This Week's Editorial
Posted: Thursday, January 1, 2015 2:30 am
Ready or not, 2015 is here. But you still have time to make your New Year’s resolutions.
Why bother, you ask, when such a small percent of Americans are successful in achieving their goals. Because experts say the very act of making resolutions improves your odds.
“People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.” That’s from the University of Scranton and Journal of Clinical Psychology, and it’s doubtful that anyone knows more about resolutions than the scientists at the Pennsylvania school. They’ve been studying the subject for years.
Never mind that only 8 percent of people say they were successful in achieving their goals. A much larger 49 percent have “infrequent success,” according to our Scranton source.
If you resolve to resolve, you still time to join the 45 percent of Americans who usually set goals. Only 17 percent resolve infrequently, while 38 percent absolutely never resolve at New Year’s.
Think twice before you reject resolving. You may do better than you think.
Getting through that first week should be a slam dunk; 75 percent get it done. But past two weeks, the survival rate drops to 71 percent; past one month, 64 percent, and past six months, 46 percent.
But don’t be daunted by numbers. Lots of help is available from a multitude of agencies, including Internet advice from the National Institutes of Health.
Here’s a very important point from NIH scientist Dr. Linda Nebling: “One challenge with New Year’s resolutions is that people often set unrealistic goals. They can quickly become frustrated and give up. Any resolution for change needs to include small goals that are definable and accompanied by a solid plan on how you’ll get to that goal.”
Losing weight was the top resolution for 2014, Scranton scientists say, and Nebling has some advice about that: “A resolution to lose 30 pounds may seem overwhelming. Instead, try setting smaller goals of losing 5 pounds a month for 6 months. Think baby steps rather than giant leaps.”
Vows to quit smoking and drink less alcohol were high on the Jan. 1 lists. Self-improvement (including weight loss) or education-related resolutions topped the list for 2014, with 38 percent. Following was money (34 percent) and relationships (31 percent). For those doing the math, the percentages totaled more than 100 because of multiple resolutions.
Younger people do better with resolutions than their elders. An impressive 39 percent of people in their 20s achieve their resolutions each year; but only 14 percent of those over 50 succeed, researchers found.
And help is available with planning and keeping your New Year's resolution. USA.gov posted a list of popular resolutions such as those listed above and others like "Take a Trip" and "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle." Click on one of the resolutions and you are taken to a page with helpful information.
For example, those who want to quit smoking are taken to smokefree.gov, which provides information on how smoking affects the body and how to create a successful plan to quit.
“Fast away the old year passes,” we’re told in the carol “Deck the Halls.” (We’ll spare you the “Fa la la’s.”)
But there’s still time to take stock and make promises to yourself for 2015. Remember the encouraging word from Scranton, that the very act of making resolutions improves your odds. Or to paraphrase Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Tis better to have resolved and lost than never to have resolved at all.
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