Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Baum here with a classic episode
Speaker 1: from our archives. Tis the season to make resolutions for
Speaker 1: the coming year, and although I suspect a lot of
Speaker 1: us are already changing up our self expectations for I
Speaker 1: wanted to run this piece about how to build a
Speaker 1: better resolution. Hey, they're brain Stuff, Lauren vogel bam here.
Speaker 1: Pcent of us who make New Year's resolutions break them
Speaker 1: by the end of January, and beyond that, only of
Speaker 1: everyone who makes a resolution, we'll see it through to completion.
Speaker 1: Are you part of to make resolutions only to find
Speaker 1: you've given up before you ever really got started. Let's
Speaker 1: break down how that happens. One of the most common
Speaker 1: reasons we break our New Year's resolutions is that we
Speaker 1: get a little over zealous when we make them. Basically,
Speaker 1: we overcommit by making too many resolutions, and as a
Speaker 1: result of us wind up blaming our busy schedules for
Speaker 1: our lack of follow through. Research shows that it's easier
Speaker 1: to keep just one resolution than several. Another part of
Speaker 1: the problem is that we often make the wrong resolution,
Speaker 1: or more than one wrong resolution. Is the case may
Speaker 1: be the key to successful goal making is to not
Speaker 1: be hasty when you do it. Make resolutions that you've
Speaker 1: thought through and are willing to dedicate your time and
Speaker 1: energy to. Don't make a resolution on the fly after
Speaker 1: too many toasts at a New Year's party. If you're
Speaker 1: not committed to your goal, the odds of staying motivated
Speaker 1: are not in your favor. But hey, who are we kidding?
Speaker 1: It can be difficult to stay motivated even when you've
Speaker 1: chosen a single, well reasoned goal. Many of us lack
Speaker 1: motivation and accountability despite our best intentions. Remove one easy
Speaker 1: way out by sharing your plans with family and friends.
Speaker 1: The more who know your goal, the less likely you'll
Speaker 1: be to talk yourself out of sticking with your new habits.
Speaker 1: And despite what you might have heard, it can take
Speaker 1: longer than just twenty one days for a lot of
Speaker 1: us to change a habit. One that he found it
Speaker 1: took anywhere between eighteen and two hundred and forty five days.
Speaker 1: Sharing your goals with those close to you not only
Speaker 1: adds accountability, which many of us need to motivate ourselves,
Speaker 1: but also gives you a support system in the end,
Speaker 1: whether or not we keep our new year's resolutions comes
Speaker 1: down to whether or not we give ourselves a resolution.
Speaker 1: We can stick to resolutions that are small in scope
Speaker 1: and involves specific and realistic goals. Help especially for those
Speaker 1: of us who make goals like get in shape, which
Speaker 1: is frequently the most made resolution in America, without then
Speaker 1: planning how we'll go about achieving that goal. We need
Speaker 1: to be more specific and realistic with ourselves, give ourselves deadlines,
Speaker 1: and track our progress. Yes, promising yourself that this is
Speaker 1: the year you'll lose weight is a great goal, but
Speaker 1: how will you do it? More than thirty percent of
Speaker 1: us who make this New year's resolution, break it. If
Speaker 1: you want to stack the odds, define what your specific
Speaker 1: weight loss goals are and give yourself a deadline within
Speaker 1: which to meet those goals. Make the goal reasonable enough
Speaker 1: that you're not intimidated by it, and the deadline realistic too.
Speaker 1: Resolved to lose ten pounds by Memorial Day and keep
Speaker 1: yourself honest with weekly progress reports. If you want to
Speaker 1: get in shape, make it your resolution to, for instance,
Speaker 1: always take the stairs. It's a good start. Keep a
Speaker 1: journal of your progress, the good and the bad, in
Speaker 1: including those days when you took the elevator because you
Speaker 1: were running late. To help keep yourself focused and on task,
Speaker 1: digital tracking devices can help, but only if you actually
Speaker 1: sit down and look at all that data they collect.
Speaker 1: Progress reports are a good way to keep yourself motivated
Speaker 1: and moving in the right direction towards your goal. Without them,
Speaker 1: and sometimes despite them, we can become discouraged. And when
Speaker 1: we're discouraged, we tend to give up on the goal.
Speaker 1: But hey, a bit of good news. Our researchers have
Speaker 1: found that a few days off from time to time
Speaker 1: doesn't have much, if any effect on overall success. Instead
Speaker 1: of giving up on your goal when you have a setback,
Speaker 1: take things one day at a time. Researchers are also
Speaker 1: examining a phenomenon called decision fatigue that plays a part
Speaker 1: in how likely we are to keep resolutions. The more decisions,
Speaker 1: even small ones, that you have to make in a day,
Speaker 1: including deciding to go for a walk or run, selecting
Speaker 1: healthy foods, and putting away cash for a rainy day,
Speaker 1: the more depleted your willpower and self control will be
Speaker 1: as the day wears on. So think about how you
Speaker 1: can incorporate small steps to your goal in your daily
Speaker 1: life so they'll be automatic and require little or no
Speaker 1: decision effort. Making tough decisions related to your resolution early
Speaker 1: in the day, for example, get your workout in earlier
Speaker 1: pay bills and handle finances before you leave work could
Speaker 1: help enshare a successful outcome. Today's episode was written by
Speaker 1: Maria Tria Marchi and produced by Tristan McNeil and Tyler Clang.
Speaker 1: For more on this months of other timely topics, visit
Speaker 1: how Stuff works dot com. If you've celebrated or are
Speaker 1: celebrating a holiday right now, I hope it's a happy one.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is a production of my Heart Radio or
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