If you’re like legions of people around the world, you’ve recently made a vow to rid yourself a bad habit—or adopt a good one. If you’re anything like me, you have a history of failing to reach your goal. (Check out my “blog” at katiehendrick.com to see how comically short I fell for 2014’s resolution.)
Nonetheless, I’m jumping on the self-improvement train once again, albeit this time I’m trying to save an additional $200 a month (fear not: I’ll still buy flowers). It’s going to be tough, especially given the number of friends I have getting married in 2015, but I’m confident I’ll be more successful than in years past.
That’s because I recently read Downsize by Ted Spiker, my former academic advisor at the University of Florida. The book shares Spiker’s very candid story about struggling with his weight and what ultimately worked for him (spoiler: it wasn’t one magic tip, but a dozen different efforts used together). But it’s not just a book about losing weight—it’s about the psychology of motivation and why certain people act the way they do. Whether your goal is dropping 50 pounds or decreasing your operating budget, Spiker’s advice applies.
Apparently, I was not the only one wowed by my mentor’s book. Time magazine recently tapped him to write about the “anatomy of a new year’s resolution," which featured 17 strategies to make your resolution actually stick. Here are his first five:
Happy New Year, all! Let's make it a great one!
Nonetheless, I’m jumping on the self-improvement train once again, albeit this time I’m trying to save an additional $200 a month (fear not: I’ll still buy flowers). It’s going to be tough, especially given the number of friends I have getting married in 2015, but I’m confident I’ll be more successful than in years past.
That’s because I recently read Downsize by Ted Spiker, my former academic advisor at the University of Florida. The book shares Spiker’s very candid story about struggling with his weight and what ultimately worked for him (spoiler: it wasn’t one magic tip, but a dozen different efforts used together). But it’s not just a book about losing weight—it’s about the psychology of motivation and why certain people act the way they do. Whether your goal is dropping 50 pounds or decreasing your operating budget, Spiker’s advice applies.
Apparently, I was not the only one wowed by my mentor’s book. Time magazine recently tapped him to write about the “anatomy of a new year’s resolution," which featured 17 strategies to make your resolution actually stick. Here are his first five:
- Nowadays, the word “resolution” almost comes with the understanding that you’re going to fizzle out by February. Better to re-frame the process and call it a goal. Or give it a life of its own with a name, like Operation Less-Jiggle, or The 2015 Strategic Body Re-Engineering Implementation Strategy, or Fred.
- Vague platitudes (“lose some weight”) are less effective than specific directives (“I will set my alarm for noon every weekday for a 30-second stretch of my adductor longus muscles”).
- Go back to the drawing board if your resolution includes the words “more selfies in the gym locker room.”
- Motivation research tells us that three things need to be present to sustain your fire over time: autonomy (you control what you do, rather than letting others dictate it); competence (you have some success the more you do it); relatedness (you share the experience with others). Which means: You can manufacture your own motivation by choosing an action that includes all three elements.
- Resolutions often fall into the all-or-nothing category. Therefore, rates of failure increase if you attempt an outright ban on gravy.
Happy New Year, all! Let's make it a great one!
