Resolutions and Habits
Posted February 1, 2023
As New Year’s Day is now in the rearview mirror, we can surmise that people are struggling to keep their resolutions. Indeed some may have already given up, perhaps with a determination that next year will be the year. A long-term study by the University of Scranton found that less than 10% of resolutions become part of our lives1.
Such a high failure rate at resolutions of our own making should give us pause. Why are we so bad at keeping resolutions? Research shows that it may come down to two primary things: how we frame our resolution2 and taking too big of a leap – too big of a behavior change at once.
Framing Your Resolution for Success
Framing the resolution comes down to our actions. Many resolutions are to stop a bad habit. Stop smoking, stop eating sweets, and stop using social media. Those are incredibly difficult to stop because of triggers (conscious and unconscious) that provoke a response. Creating a new habit in its place is more productive, so there is a response, just not a bad habit. For example, instead of smoking, perhaps you chew gum. Instead of looking at social media, you pick up a book. You select a positive habit to replace the bad habit.
Creating Habits That Stick
Resolutions can be aspirational, but we should be realistic and recognize we may need to create small habits that inch us in the direction of our resolution. To improve the likelihood of sticking with new habits, we should form ones that are not major deviations from our current lifestyle. Making a 1% change may not be noticeable or something to brag about, but it can be far more meaningful in the long run.
Once we master a new habit, we create another small habit that gets us one step closer to our resolution. This becomes a continuous cycle of improvement that empowers and helps us become the person we want to be. A marathon is completed with many small steps, not a few giant leaps. We should view our personal resolutions in a similar manner.
Today is the Best Day to Start
No matter what, today is the best day to start a habit that will improve your life. Why today? Because it isn’t tomorrow. When we form small habits, we don’t face uncomfortable or unnatural changes to our lifestyle. Hence, there is no reason to procrastinate the day of achieving our resolutions.
©2023 The Behavioral Finance Network
Thayer Financial, L.L.C. (“Thayer Financial”) is a registered investment adviser offering advisory services in the States of North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and in other jurisdictions where exempted. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. This website’s presence on the Internet shall not be directly or indirectly interpreted as a solicitation of investment advisory services to persons of another jurisdiction unless otherwise permitted by statute. Follow-up or individualized responses to consumers in a particular state by Thayer Financial in the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation shall not be made without our first complying with jurisdiction requirements or according to an applicable state exemption.
All written content on this site is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Thayer Financial, L.L.C., unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to other parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.
