How to keep to your resolutions

With the new decade, resolutions have extra significance this year since they can improve the next 10 years. Yet most of us set some rather arbitrary resolutions such as “get fit”, “recycle more, “revise more” and even “to double followers on social media.” If that resonates with you, the article is of quite some use. While the resolutions are good-willed, they are often naïve and intangible. Being a person of procrastination, its easy to conjure a multitude of disadvantages to a 5 minute push-up workout in the morning, but in this article, I will delve into the latest research so that you can make most of the year and decade to come.

Its important to keep to resolutions for any tangible effect to take place. The problem most of us have is keeping to it. We may conjure up fantastical brilliant commitments then are disappointed (or even glad) when the first step goes wrong. To help with motivating yourself, you should develop a SMART acronym. SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ATTAINABLE, RELEVANT, TIMELY. This simple acronym should be the go-to format when conjuring resolutions. If you want to get fit, a SMART resolution would be to lose 5% of body fat in 6 months with a 500 calorie deficit. Such resolutions have a clear time, method and target to them, compelling you to beat those goals. The theory behind this is if you can see the resolution at the top and the steps leading to it, it will make it easier for you to climb the stairs. I have tried this myself, and it works brilliantly, especially on a week to week basis.

Another method to keep your Veganuary drive going for the rest of the year is to simply write it out. While this sounds dumbfoundedly obvious, studies show only 20% of people actually write it down, and roughly 20% of people stick to their resolutions year round. While correlation doesn’t necessarily causation, writing makes a mental and physical impact. It adds severity and will to you commitment, and also (when in conjunction with SMART resolutions) motivate you through the decade. Studies also show that writing monthly objectives to the aim motivates you further, since their aren’t 365 days between the start and pay-off, but rather more manageable time frames where one feels gratification more regularly.

The last top tip to boost yourself to December is the cherry on the cake. Studies recommend that your resolutions can be done in 2 minutes. 2 minutes. That’s probably the time it will take you to read this article. While this seems apparently short, it is to evade the procrastination of tired and bored individuals. 2 minutes is the average time it takes for someone to like an action. Beyond that, it is almost impossible to reverse the first impression. Thus, 2 minutes is an apt time for you to do your resolutions. Moreover, being competitive helps with motivation. The tip being here that you should challenge your friend right now for a 5 km run in December. This will spur you on and them and hopefully lead to greater good for all.

The beauty of resolutions echoes the butterfly effect, where something minuscule has the ability to change. In the time you have read this article, you could have completed today’s resolution. If you haven’t, I would recommend you do it in the next two minutes.

 

By Divy Dayal, Wilson's School