Some like to make New Year’s resolutions; some specifically avoid doing so. And some choose only to resolve not to make New Year’s resolutions.
Surveys — and at least one academic study — suggest that most of those resolutions don’t last the year. Heck, many suggest they don’t last a month.
According to one experiment, men were significantly more likely to succeed when asked to engage in either goal setting (e.g., instead of trying to lose weight in general, aiming to lose a pound each week), or focusing on the rewards associated with achieving their goal (e.g., being more attractive to the opposite sex).
Women, on the other hand, were more successful when they told their friends and family about their resolution, or were encouraged to be especially resilient and not to give up because they had reverted to the old habits (e.g., if dieting, treating a chocolate binge as a temporary setback rather than as failure).
How much difference did it make? An extra 22% of men achieved their resolution when they engaged in goal setting, and women were almost 10% more likely to be successful when encouraged to persist in the face of setbacks.
But whether you choose to make a resolution (or two) or not — you might have some fun with this New Year’s Resolution Generator.
