Caitlyn Maatouk | Staff Writer
Happy New Year, and happy new semester!
Like most of us right now, you’re probably just starting out with the semester and trying to balance the goals you’ve set for yourself this year along with the already heavy workload you have.
Whether your goals are to be consistent with working out, never skipping a class, taking time for self-care, or spending time with loved ones, or refusing to give in to procrastination, January is all about testing which habits we can maintain and which ones are not worth it. Regardless, many give up soon into the year, not by lack of motivation, but by lack of planning. It is very easy to get overwhelmed and hence be tempted to give up, which is why the gym is packed in January but returns to a calm state in February. Two questions can therefore be asked: why is it that a new year on our calendar seems to make us want to improve all aspects of our lives? And how do we actually improve without feeling discouraged and calling it quits?
- The origins of yearly self-reimagination and why most fail
So why do we set so many goals to complete every January? The obvious answer is simple: we see everyone doing so, and we do the same. But why does everyone do it?
Well, it’s due to the Fresh Start Effect (2014). In simpler terms, the New Year creates a psychological “before” and “after”, much like the COVID-19 pandemic and Lebanon’s October 2019 protests: we often think of our lives before they happened and after. This allows us to think of our “past” self and our “future” self that we want to attain, like some sort of evaluation. Dai, Milkman and Riis collected data that supports this phenomenon: searches for “diet” and attendance at the gym increased drastically in January. Additionally, they even noticed that this effect also occurs at the beginning of every month, after birthdays, and on Mondays compared to other days of the week (to a less significant degree compared to the beginning of the year). The important thing to note, however, is that the fresh start effect motivates initiation, not consistency, hence why many people start but give up later.
Another reason for wanting to set new year’s resolutions is the false hope syndrome: “Unrealistic expectations about the speed, ease, amount, and rewards of self-change prompt the individual to make a commitment to change. Deciding to change reinforces feelings of being in control, and the self-change effort is generally successful in the early stages. As time goes by and the endeavour continues, change becomes more difficult to sustain, and ultimately, no further progress is made.” (Polivy & Herman, p.7). When we fail at something and then try again, it is because of this false hope. Because we want to succeed, we try again in the hope of completing our goal. This isn’t a bad thing, as long as we don’t try again the same way or expect things to change without putting in the adequate effort). Naturally, when we fail at a goal we set for ourselves, our sense of worth takes a hit.
Why do we fail at something we want to accomplish?
The false hope syndrome kind of answers this question: we simply do not plan properly. It is really easy to maintain a habit when you’re excited, or when everyone else is doing the same thing. The real challenge comes after this motivation fades away.
Zhu, Z. & Chen, G. suggest a concept which defines this challenge as hyperbolic discounting: the human tendency to choose smaller, immediate rewards over larger, long-term rewards, even when the long-term rewards are objectively “better.” For example, sticking to the habit of going to the gym in the morning offers great long-term benefits such as stamina, discipline, self-control, emotional endurance, and more. However, when facing cold mornings and short-term temporary discomfort, many of us tend to quit this long-term goal for the chance to sleep a little longer (short-term gratification).
- How to actually maintain the habits
To actually stick to completing the goals we set for ourselves this new year (or at any time for that matter), there are a few things that most research agrees on: the goal must be (1) formulated in a positive manner through which we can track our progress, (2) aligned with our core values, and we need to be (3) flexible and self-forgiving when we slip (because we will at some point).
First, our goals need to be goal-oriented (obviously). But what that means is actually setting up an “if-then” mechanism according to Gollwitzer and Sheeran from Science Direct. For example, “if I’m full, I won’t finish my entire plate” or “if it’s not raining, I will go on a run every morning.” Without this mechanism, the goal is more like a wish. Additionally, formulating the goal in this way becomes a bridge between the goal (desired outcome) and the actions needed to achieve it. Similarly, according to Oscarsson, M., Carlbring, P., Widerhold, G., & Andersson, G. , people with approach-oriented goals were significantly more successful than those with avoidance-oriented goals. The small nuance in formulation between “I will eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables” versus “I will avoid/cut junk food” really makes a difference.
Second, our goals need to align with our values. If quitting smoking preserves my health but I don’t value my health, I will not have the drive to quit. Therefore, I have to agree with the value that my goal represents to be intrinsically motivated.
Our mindset is also just as important in attaining our goal: while being perfectionists comes in handy when we’re planning, being rigid and unaccepting of deviating from the plan or not adapting to normal life repercussions can and will be detrimental to achieving goals. Sometimes, the rigidity of the plan can cause us to get overwhelmed and avoid the task altogether. Powers, T. A., Koestner, R., & Topciu, R. A. (2005) showed that the “socially prescribed perfectionists” tend to view the completion of their goal as an all-or-nothing mindset. They either stick to the plan they made down to the smallest detail or completely disregard it when they slip up. Thus, it is essential to be flexible. If you don’t work out on Monday, you can always work out the next day. Interferences in your plan may not derail you from attaining your goal, but an all-or-nothing mindset definitely will.
Finally, and this is closely related to perfectionism, we need to be self-forgiving. A slip-up will happen when we do not act in a way to bring us closer to our goal. In fact, a study by Norcross and Vangarelli done over 2 years tracked the success rate of 200 participants. The results showed that 19% of these participants were able to maintain their goal in these 2 years. The most important finding is that, on average, these successful people “slipped up” an average of 14 times in those 2 years (Norcross and Vangarelli, 1988). Therefore, what matters is not whether or not we fail, but the mindset we tackle this failure with. Will one “failure” lead you to give up entirely on your goal? Or will you be resilient and try again?
As we start a new semester, it is helpful to remember that change is a marathon, not a sprint. The most successful people aren’t those who never fail, but those who are resilient and tolerant enough to fail one hundred times, refuse to let it define them, and try again. By framing our goals as positive approaches, aligning our goals with our values, and by swapping perfectionism for flexibility, goals will be much easier to achieve. You don’t need a ‘New You’ this January; you simply need a version of yourself that is kind enough to keep going when the initial motivation fades.
Sources:
Dai, H., Milkman, K. L., & Riis, J. (2014). The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior. Management Science
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta‐analysis of effects and processes. ScienceDirect
Norcross, J. C., Mrykalo, M. S., & Blagys, M. D. (1988). The resolution solution: longitudinal examination of New Year’s change attempts. PubMed
Oscarsson, M., Carlbring, P., Widerhold, G., & Andersson, G. (2020). A large-scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals. PubMed
Polivy, J., & Herman, C. P. (2002). If at first you don’t succeed: False hopes of self-change. APA PsycNet
Powers, T. A., Koestner, R., & Topciu, R. A. (2005). Implementation intentions, perfectionism, and goal progress: Perhaps the road to hell is paved with good intentions. PubMed
Zhu, Z., & Chen, G. (2015). Hyperbolic discounting and positive optimal inflation. Cambridge University Press
*all these are available through AUB libraries