Not just another new year’s resolution – make it stick

In any given year about 38 per cent of well-intentioned people decide to make a new year’s resolution.

According to University of Adelaide Professor in Psychology, Elaine Fox, attempts to change almost any habit without pause and a plan are likely to be unsuccessful.

“If you think about it, most negative habits are acquired in stages, so they are best reversed in a similar way,” Professor Fox says.

“You don’t start smoking cigarettes at the rate of a packet a day – so expecting to go back to zero in a short space of time is a bit unrealistic.”

Disappointingly, what the research shows is that about 91 percent of those earnest resolutions will be well and truly broken by the end of January.

The term, “new year’s resolution” was first officially documented in the US in the early 1800s, but as a practice, it is said to date back as far as the ancient Babylonians, who celebrated their new year with pledges to pay their debts and return anything they had “borrowed” for longer than was decent.

In a study of about 800 million activities, the Strava fitness app predicted 80 per cent of those who make a fitness-related new year’s resolution will abandon it by 19 January.

In her book, Switch Craft: The Hidden Power of Mental Agility, Professor Fox outlines five key steps to successful long-term change, but she acknowledges no big change is easy and nothing is completely ‘one size fits all’.

“The mistake most people make is that they jump straight into taking action. But there are actually three stages to go through before that point,” Professor Fox says.

“The first is a kind of situation analysis where you figure out what’s working well, what you enjoy, then the things that are not perfect or that you want to change or eliminate become clear – it is a pre-contemplation pause.”

She says stage two is a contemplation of change where you list the benefits and costs of the changes you want to make, and you set some clear targets.

"It is almost certain you will have a setback at some point – have that sneaky cigarette or two, choose sugary drinks and a burger for lunch – what is important is that you see it as a lapse and not a failure."Professor Elaine Fox

“This is where you get a bit more specific and add clarity to your goals and this is when you tell someone that you are planning to make the changes – that adds a measure of accountability and provides you with some extra support,” she says.

The next stage is preparation, where you prepare to avoid the triggers that might make you relapse and develop a plan for success.

“So, you might book some workout classes, join a walking group and decide not to do food shopping when you are hungry or tired - if you are trying to quit smoking you may plan not to smoke before noon and to avoid drinks with friends, where you know you’ll be tempted,” she says.

“The next step is to enact the plan with as much determination as possible, so that the things you want to change become a positive part of your life.”

Professor Fox says one of the most important steps is the last one – preparing for both maintenance and relapse.

"It is almost certain you will have a setback at some point – have that sneaky cigarette or two, choose sugary drinks and a burger for lunch – what is important is that you see it as a lapse and not a failure,” she says.

“Notice how you are feeling when it happens – are you tired, bored, stressed – and how you’re feeling when you are doing well – perhaps even write this down.

“It can also be a signal to reassess your plans – maybe adjust your goals and tackle the problem in smaller chunks. The important part here is to keep going, to keep moving towards your change goals even if they are slightly modified.”

Professor Fox says expecting to go from couch potato to a five-day a week gym junkie, is fraught with problems.

“You need time and a plan to change not only what you do, but how you see yourself as you chip away at long held habits and patterns,” she says.

“The tradition of new year’s resolutions is not a waste of time.

“It reminds us to assess where we are at in life and what we might want to change, but it is important to approach those changes with a full understanding that it is not a magical process – it takes planning and persistence.”