The media is on a flurry dissing New Year’s Resolutions. Saying that 80% of people will fail
Is this true?
Its actually NOT!!!!! They are all talking about 1 study that was done 30 years ago.
Resolving to start over or to make a fresh start at something is effective
Say you decide "I am going to start on the new me tomorrow". And then you wake up as the new you.
Your mind set has changed
Your intentions have changed
And when you change your mindset and set better intentions you will do better. Simple.
What do we mean by intentions?
Here is an example. You are tired and rushed and going crazy at work. You answer the phone with the intent in your voice to let the other person know that you are BUSY!!! What happens? They hear it in your voice. They know that you don’t want to speak to them
Change the Intention. I am busy at work and I know that things will go better if I answer the phone sounding like I want to speak to the other person. I change my tone of voice. Slow the cadence. Smile. Take a deep breath before I answer. What happens? The other person and YOU both have a better conversation.
A fresh start allows us to let go of our baggage, and start anew.
“Fresh starts are powerful because they serve as a belief disruptor,” says Karin Nordin, PhD, Behavior Change Expert and PN Certified Coach. “They allow us to believe new things about ourselves, which is especially important if we’ve failed in the past.”
Here’s how it works:
Suppose you set a New Year’s resolution to start running.
In your mind, your “old self” (the one glued to the couch) expires December 31. Your new self (the one who runs!) begins January 1.
Because your brain distinguishes between these two selves, it’s much easier to believe that your “new self” will succeed.
That might sound silly: After all, you won’t actually magically transform the moment the ball drops on New Year’s Eve or a new calendar day dawns.
But human psychology is a funny thing, and this separation of self enables us to release ourselves from our past “failures,” and believe that a different way forward is possible.
That belief is critical for behavior change.
“When we believe we can get better at something, we develop self-efficacy,” says Dr. Nordin. “Self-efficacy leads to increased motivation, enabling us to tackle the challenges in front of us, which ultimately leads to behavior change.”
So, I am hear to say. Yes you can do something new right now.
Just set your mind to it. Change your intentions to be something positive
I am going to wake up a new person tomorrow and I am gong to get up early and go to the gym
I am going to make coffee and clean out my drawers (I am imagining its Saturday tomorrow)
I am going to get 15 minutes of sunlight or at least go outside for 15 minutes each day this week when I wake up
What do you want to do differently this month?