New year, new you: A challenging goal

The month of January is named after Janus, the Roman god of new beginnings and transitions. Believing that Janus — often depicted as having two faces in opposite directions —critically looked back at the past year and had a hopeful gaze into the future, Romans made promises of good conduct for the coming year.

As we bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new, millions around the globe are unwittingly keeping alive this ancient Roman tradition in the manifestation of New Year resolutions — to change an undesired trait or behaviour, accomplish a personal goal, or improve life. A recent survey by Forbes Health/One Poll in the US revealed 48 per cent respondents aimed to improve their fitness in 2024; 36 per cent prioritised mental health.

But the road to self-improvement is fraught with obstacles: A staggering number of these well-intentioned individuals, along with countless others worldwide, will abandon their resolutions within days.

According to a study by fitness app Strava, which analysed over 800 million user-logged activities in 2019, most people likely abandoned their New Year resolutions by January 19. By the second week of February, approximately 80 per cent of resolution-makers gave up on their goals, whether minor or life-changing.

A study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, on the other hand, states that not more than 46 per cent people making New Year resolutions are successful — that means 54 per cent fail.

It’s not just New Year resolutions that fail. Most resolutions do, but those made on January 1 are easier to track and remember because of the date.

But why do they fail so spectacularly? The study revealed: “Once into the new year, successful resolvers employed more cognitive-behavioural processes but fewer awareness-generating and emotion-enhancing processes than non-successful resolvers.”

Often New Year resolutions are bogged down by psychological traps. Many people set goals that are too far to reach. We fall victim to the planning fallacy by undermining the time it would take to complete a task, especially if it requires a behavioural change. New Year resolutions often focus on lofty ambitions, say, shedding 20 kg within six months, without considering processes. What we may be lacking is a concrete plan.

Our brain cells that operate willpower are in the prefrontal cortex, the area right behind your forehead. That part of the brain is also responsible for staying focused, handling short-term memory, and solving abstract tasks, for example. For those brain cells to handle willpower is a task that is too heavy, but they could be trained.

The focus should be developing a new habit rather than making new resolutions. For example, instead of harping on healthy food, the attempt should be to substitute that one extra slice of pizza for an apple.

“The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision,” writes James Clear in his book Atomic Habits. “Habits are like the atoms of our lives, each one is a fundamental unit that contributes to your overall improvement.” 

According to the Zeigarnik effect, named after Lithuanian-Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, people remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks. We, too, can divide the New Year resolution in a series of short-term tasks aka to-do list, and figure out our approach — and in this way, our long-term goal should be much more achievable.

Lack of motivation is also a key factor behind the high number of New Year resolution failures. Besides, external pressure can lead to resolutions that are not genuinely desired, leading to a greater likelihood of failure.

We need to know our personal reasons for our goal. If we resolve to get our finances in check, we must keep reminding ourselves of the pain of being indebted because of our mounting credit card bills. “Identity is the north star of habit change ... Habits matter because they help you become the person you wish to be,” writes Clear.

One of the prominent approaches to change is the stages of change model, or transtheoretical model -- introduced in the 1970s by researchers James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente. It evolved through studies comparing the experiences of smokers who quit on their own with those requiring further treatment.

The model postulates that a person moves through six stages of change: Precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. It demonstrates that change is rarely easy, it occurs gradually, and relapses are an inevitable part of the process. People are often unwilling or resistant to change during the early stages, but they eventually develop a proactive and committed approach to changing a behaviour.

Humans are inherently optimistic creatures. Despite evidence to the contrary, we cling to the hope that each new year will be the one when our resolutions finally stick. And with the right approach, this optimism can become reality. Also, I have taken numerous New Year resolutions for losing weight but to no avail. Any suggestions?