Psychologists
identify ways to meet your New Year’s Resolutions
Newswise — If you’ve
failed at keeping your New Year’s resolutions in the past,
research suggests that it may have to do with the goals
you’ve chosen and how you implement change, reports the
January issue of the Harvard Health Letter.
What doesn’t work? One
common mistake is to have too many goals. Another formula
for failure is to set your sights on behaviors that are too
vague, such as being a better spouse. A third pitfall is
setting goals that are too lofty, says the Harvard Health
Letter.
What does work?
Researchers say you’re more likely to achieve goals that
match your own interests and values, rather than those that
reflect outside pressures or expectations. In other words,
you’re more likely to keep a resolution if the motivation is
coming from you, not someone else, says the Harvard Health
Letter.
Another frequent finding
is that to achieve a goal, you must come up with a strategy
for doing so that’s rooted in practical steps. Tie the
desired behaviors to common events or to habits you already
have, so the new behavior becomes more or less automatic.
For example, you might improve your pill-taking habits by
putting your medications next to your toothbrush.
And how does perfectionism
impact goal achievement? Researchers report that subjects
with perfectionist tendencies that are integral to their
personalities fare well with step-by-step plans for pursuing
a goal. But the practical steps backfired for perfectionism
driven by a need to reach expectations set by others, says
the Harvard Health Letter.
The bottom line: Pick your
resolution carefully and back it up with concrete strategies
about how to achieve it, suggests the Harvard Health Letter.
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