Is the month of February the opportune time to discuss New Year’s resolutions? Of course, the answer will vary from person to person, depending on their individual perspective on the subject. Did they commit to a resolution? And if so, how are they progressing with it? Or have they quit the pursuit of the resolution all together?
Research has found that 80 percent of all resolutions pledged to commence on the 1st of January of every year, have been abandoned by mid-February. When one considers that less than one sixth of the year has passed and 80 percent of the field has already packed it in, it really does beg the question, why do so many resolutions end so quickly in failure? How can we commence chasing these resolutions with so much enthusiasm only for them to peter out less than six weeks later?
The majority of these goals for the most part revolve around improving our health and personal well-being, and include the usual suspects: quitting smoking, losing weight, pursuing a healthy diet and maintaining a regular exercise programme. In the main, these goals are often quite attainable, yet we seem to abandon the course quite early, with promises to return soon, or, as in many instances, try again next year. This syndrome of quitting, or procrastinating on personal development, is a riddle which has attracted the interest of psychologists, motivational and personal lifestyle coaches.
Many suggestions have been put forward for this perplexing dilemma as to why so many people lose interest in their goals. One proposal is that we have not committed to the level of emotional attachment required to be attached to the set goal, whilst another suggests that we have simply placed the bar too high initially and within those initial six weeks we just become more discouraged rather than motivated Another theory advanced is the resolution we have committed to is designed by someone else who thinks what we should do, or we are doing what we think we should do, rather than what we should be actually doing.
These New Year resolutions are effectively pursuits in changes to our current habits, and we are all familiar with the old adage, “bad habits are hard to break and good ones are even harder to develop.” Research has found that depending on the new habit we are trying to cultivate, the process can last anywhere from 18 to 254 days. This only serves to emphasise the fact of how difficult it is for us to eliminate the bad habits, such as procrastination, that we have inculcated into our daily routines with the passage of time.
So how can one crack the code for making effective change in one’s life? Amy Morin, writing in Psychology Today, points out that the transtheoretical model of change outlines the five basic stages one will pass through before creating a change in one’s life, such as, quitting smoking. Firstly, there is precontemplation, where we deny having a problem, but other persons have expressed their concerns. Secondly, the act of contemplation, in which we consider the pros and cons of change. Thirdly, we take steps to get ready to make changes, and then, we change our behaviour. Finally, we figure out how to stick to our change over the long term. Of course, this is easier said than done, since as human beings we are diametrically opposed to change, thus, compounding the problem even further.
We find it so much easier to remain in our comfort cocoon rather than adapting to the constant changes taking place around us, although we know that it is inevitable we will eventually have to follow suit. Within the recent generation time span the one significant aspect that has had the most influence on our lives has been the role of the internet. Those individuals and companies with the foresight and willingness to change the culture of their pursuits and businesses respectively have stayed ahead of the curve. When one thinks of Amazon’s success one is also forced to ponder on Kodak, the film company which, despite developing the first digital camera as far back as 1975, feared the change the product would have on its main business, photographic film, and abandoned the project. Kodak’s failure to modify its business model would eventually lead to its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2012 and the sale of many of its renowned patents.
Kudos to those persons who have managed to stay the course in pursuit of their New Year resolutions for 2021. For those who have slipped a notch and fallen behind their initial schedule, now is not the time to quit. Instead, why not take a Kodak moment to stop and reflect on how you can modify your goals and achieve a lifestyle of better health or whatever change you have set out to make.
