The arrival of a new year often brings a sense of hope and renewed enthusiasm. Hence, in the spirit of new beginnings, a lot of people are engaged in making resolutions. These include achieving a desired level of physical fitness, improving personal finances, and pursuing new or revisiting old hobbies and interests. However, according to several research, including a 2021 study by J. M. Dickson et al. and a 2002 study from the University of Scranton by J. C. Norcross et al., 64 percent of people abandon their goals within a month and 8 percent achieve them by the end of the year. Why are New Year’s resolutions hard to keep?
New Year, Same Challenges: Understanding Why New Year’s Resolutions are Hard to Keep and What to Do to Make Lasting Changes
Avoidance-Oriented Goals vs Approach-Oriented Goals
Researchers M. Oscarsson et al. conducted a large-scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions to understand what resolutions people make when they are free to formulate them, whether different resolutions reach differing success rates, and whether it is possible to increase the likelihood of success. This involved administering information and exercises on effective goal setting to 1066 participants. Findings were published in 2020 in the Public Library of Science.
A follow-up after a year revealed that those with approach-oriented goals were more successful than those with avoidance-oriented goals. These participants accounted for 58.9 percent of the total participant population. Furthermore, compared with the group that received extended support like more comprehensive resources and those who received no special support, those who received a moderate level of support like goal-setting advice had the highest success rate.
Note that approach-oriented goals are goals that focus on achieving positive outcomes or pursuing desirable behaviors. These emphasize actions that bring goal-setters closer to something beneficial. Examples include exercising regularly or saving USD 500 per month. Avoidance-oriented goals focus on preventing or stopping undesirable behaviors or outcomes. They emphasize avoiding negatives rather than achieving positives. Examples include goals related to quitting.
Hedonic Adaptation and Hedonic Adaptation Prevention
People tend to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or changes in their lives. This is called hedonic adaptation or hedonic treadmill. It posits that individuals possess a baseline level of subjective well-being, to which they tend to regress over time, irrespective of encountered circumstances. This concept can explain why people have the habit of making and declaring New Year’s resolutions and why they often fail.
Some people tend to make resolutions at the end of a year or the start of a new year because it is the fashionable thing to do at that time. The renewed sense of excitement from new beginnings also makes goal-setting seems more appropriate during the arriving new year. However, more often than not, this higher level of excitement fades. Hedonic adaptation suggests that this comes from the fact that most people quickly return to a relatively stable level of excitement.
A derivative concept called hedonic adaptation prevention was devised and has been advanced to resolve hedonic adaption. Researchers K. M. Sheldon and S. Lyubomirsky suggested that people should optimize positive stimuli to slow down the process involved in declining levels of excitement or happiness. They also noted that rising aspirations often result in lower well-being and that this should be minimized to impede hedonic adaptation to positive stimuli.
Unsustainable Goals and Misalignment With Motivations
Targets made as part of a resolution are often ambitious. These include losing 50 pounds of weight or saving enough cash for a big-ticket purchase. Furthermore, despite the presence of targets, these goals are still vague. They lack clear and actionable steps. There are also resolutions with goals that are made due to external pressures or trends. Some goals are also too long-term and those who make them often fail to determine and follow specific steps needed to succeed.
J. W. Atkinson developed the Expectancy-Value Theory in the 1950s and 1960s and J. Eccles expanded it further in the 1980s. The theory contends high expectations of success combined with high task value leads to greater motivation. A. Bandura and D. H. Schunk also explained that proximal or short-term goals are more effective in maintaining motivation than distal or long-term goals because they produce immediate feedback and a perception of progress.
High levels of stress can also overwhelm the cognitive resources needed for sustained motivation. The study of A. F. T. Arnsten found that stress activates the amygdala and impairs the prefrontal cortex. These areas of the brain are responsible for goal-directed behavior. Hence, to create sustainable goals aligned with established theories of motivation, resolutions should be doable, have a relevant impact, produce immediate feedback, and be pursued in ideal situations.
FURTHER READINGS AND REFERENCES
- Arnsten, A. F. T. 2009. “Stress Signaling Pathways that Impair Prefrontal Cortex Structure and Function. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 10(6): 410-422. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. DOI: 1038/nrn2648
- Bandura, A. and Schunk, D. H. 1981. “Cultivating Competence, Self-Efficacy, and Intrinsic Interest Through Proximal Self-Motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 41(3): 586-598. American Psychological Association. DOI: 1037/0022-3514.41.3.586
- Dickson, J. M., Moberly, N. J., Preece, D., Dodd, A., and Huntley, C. D. 2021. “Self-Regulatory Goal Motivational Processes in Sustained New Year Resolution Pursuit and Mental Wellbeing.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18(6): 3084. MDPI AG. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18063084
- Norcross, J. C., Mrykalo, M. S., and Blagys, M. D. 2002. “Auld Lang Syne: Success Predictors, Change Processes, and Self‐Reported Outcomes of New Year’s Resolvers and Nonresolvers. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 58(4): 397-405. Wiley. DOI: 1002/jclp.115
- Oscarsson, M., Carlbring, P., Andersson, G., and Rozental, A. 2020. “A Large-Scale Experiment on New Year’s Resolutions: Approach-Oriented Goals are More Successful Than Avoidance-Oriented Goals. In ed. J. C. Brown, PLOS ONE. 15(12): e0234097. Public Library of Science. DOI: 1371/journal.pone.0234097
- Sheldon, K. M. and Lyubomirsky, S. 2012. “The Challenge of Staying Happier.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 38(5): 670-680. SAGE Publications. DOI: 1177/0146167212436400
- Solomon, R. L. and Corbit, J. D. 1974. “An Opponent-Process Theory of Motivation: I. Temporal Dynamics of Affect. Psychological Review. 81(2): 119-145. American Psychology Association. DOI: 1037/h0036128