It’s estimated that only 4% of people successfully follow through with their New Year’s Resolution. It’s hard, but why?
#1 reason is that the goals are too hefty!
According to a survey by Statista, 48% of Americans set “weight loss” as their resolution for 2021. We all want to lose weight and be fit, amirite? But setting a goal of “losing weight” is pretty big and a bit vague.
Attain Success
Think baby steps. Pick up just one piece of the puzzle.
Storytime
Even though I hadn’t formally set a New Year’s Resolution this past year, I had lots of ideas for things I’d like to do, including:
- lose weight
- improve my fitness
- start that business I’ve been meaning to start for years
- improve my oral hygiene
- be happy
- repair my relationships
Overwhelmed much? These are huge!
So I did what anyone would do; I took on the easiest one.
I decided that “improving my oral hygiene” would take the least amount of effort and offer the greatest reward.
If I brushed my teeth more often, I would have:
- Fresh breath = increased closeness with my partner
- Healthy gums and teeth = lower risk of cavities = less dental work in the future
- Motivation to reduce my sugar intake = decreased tooth decay and potential reduction in weight
- Reduced risk of nighttime snacking = potential reduction in weight
- Less holding of food in my ‘flavor saver’ – a crooked tooth that liked to hold onto my lunch = increased confidence = a radiant smile
You see, at the time, I would often fall asleep on the couch after a long day and move directly to bed when I woke up. (Ew, gross, I know. What can I say? I’m not perfect.) It was a terrible habit I knew I needed to break.
I asked myself, “How will I do this?”
After mulling it over, I decided I’d start by just brushing my teeth every day through January, and I promised not to be hard on myself if I missed a day.
At the time, I had no idea what I had just done…
Turns out size DOES matter
I could have set my goal as “improve my oral health” and left it at that but goals like that are pretty vague. I needed something more tangible.
“Brushing my teeth every day for a month” is a bit more specific (brush teeth), measurable (daily), actionable (practical activity of daily living), realistic (something that I could do), and also time-bound (through January).
Habit Formation
Researchers are always investigating how new habits are formed, but currently, we believe that new neural pathways are forged under certain conditions. These include:
- significant feedback (aka reward)
- repetition
- location cues
- social pressures
Given this bit of information, we can throw the 21-day theory out the window.
It’s clear that motivational factors vary from person to person, and it’s not so much the duration of time but more the task’s level of difficulty coupled with the perceived reward from performing the task.
For me, frequent repetitions of a simple task with an immediate reward will forge neural pathways more efficiently.
- brushing teeth is easy.
- brushing daily is repetitive
- brushing rewards me with good breath
Goal Setting the SMART way
It’s not entirely clear who invented SMART goals, but it is thought that the idea arose organically. In the 1960s, Dr. Edwin Locke examined the relationship between motivation and goal setting and found that employees are motivated when given clear goals and are provided with feedback. In 1985, Blanchard is the first person to use the acronym SMART in his book titled Leadership and the One Minute Manager. Yet others claim that George Doran developed the concept of SMART in 1981 when he wrote about them in the November issue of Management Review.
In either case, the concept of SMART goals was revolutionary for so many industries. You may have even heard of this concept before, which is great. If ou have, use this as a refresher when considering your New Year’s goals.
SMART is an acronym, and each letter’s meaning can vary depending on who you talk to. Here is what Doran described:
Remember a short while ago I said, My “brush teeth every day for a month” goal is specific (brush teeth), measurable (daily), actionable (practical activity of daily living), realistic (something that I could do), and also time-bound (through January).
Let’s break it down.
Smart Goal Setting
I did it! I really did it! Well, truthfully, I brushed my teeth for the majority of the month! haha.
I felt accomplished and motivated. Since I was feeling so good about my achievement, I wanted to do more. So I said to myself,
“I’ll add flossing, no pressure if I miss a day.”
For the month of February, I would add flossing to my daily routine.
Mid-month, I came across an ad for clear aligners, and I thought, “Hey, I’d like to fix my crooked tooth. It might actually help me to keep up with the brushing and flossing.”
I researched and ultimately sent away for aligners.
It’s now December, I’ve finished my treatments.
I have successfully incorporated daily brushing (actually increased to twice per day per instructions for aligners) and flossing.
I exceeded my expectations?!
Reflections
Looking back, I see how the rewards and my success at each step have kept me motivated and inspired me to add more challenges along the way.
While “brushing my teeth” seemed kind of elementary and silly at first, if I hadn’t set the bar low, I would have failed right away and by taking baby steps, I had actually achieved the larger goal of “improving my oral hygiene.”
I also gained secondary rewards in the process, such as fresh breath and a great smile marked with confidence!
Check out this before and after.
What’s your New Year’s Resolution?
If you want to “lose weight” this year, figure out a way to start small. Only you know this answer, as what doesn’t work for one may work for another. For you, it might look like “drinking at least three refillable water bottles per day for one week.” Or “cut out one can of soda per week for four weeks?
Think about difficulty level, repetition, and rewards. Will you get any secondary rewards? If you succeed, is there a way to build on it to add challenge?
Sample
Let’s take “Drink More Water” as a goal and break it down:
Possible rewards associated with this goal:
- Adequate hydration = optimal cellular function = feeling energized
- Increased water intake = decreased feelings of hunger = possible reduction in calories
- Feeling of accomplishment
Bottom Line
Whatever your New Year’s Resolution might be this year, take a minute to plan out how you might achieve it. Ask yourself these things:
- Is it Specific?
- Is it Measurable?
- Is it Achievable?
- Is it Realistic?
- Is it Time-Bound?
Happy New Year, Witches!
References
- Lawlor, K. B. (2012). Smart goals: How the application of smart goals can contribute to achievement of student learning outcomes. In Developments in business simulation and experiential learning: Proceedings of the annual ABSEL conference (Vol. 39).
- Luque D, Molinero S, Watson P, López FJ, Le Pelley ME. Measuring habit formation through goal-directed response switching. J Exp Psychol Gen. 2020 Aug;149(8):1449-1459. doi: 10.1037/xge0000722. Epub 2019 Nov 21. PMID: 31750714.
- Palmer, C. (2020, November). Harnessing the power of habits. Monitor on Psychology, 51(8). http://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/11/career-lab-habits accessed on Dec 5 2021
