Is It Time for a New Year’s Resolution or New Year’s Transition?
It’s that time of year again. As the holiday season comes to a close, many of us face a clean slate for the year with goals and commitments for improvement. Perhaps it’s making that career change, spending more time with the family, or embarking on a fitness plan. The infamous resolutions are put into place.
Yet statistics reveal that our success with resolutions is less than stellar. For two years, researchers from the University of Scranton (1989) followed 200 people who made New Year’s resolutions. They found that 77% kept to their resolutions for one week, while only 19% were still committed to their goals at the two-year mark. The research explored triggers that led to foregoing one’s goals such as stress and negative emotions, along with factors that aided in success such as counterconditioning. It confirms what we all know; staying true to New Year’s commitments can be difficult.
At the heart of the challenge is our approach to resolutions. We often embark on them as simple ‘changes’ in our behaviors; however, many of these goals ultimately call for a deeper level transition. They demand a shift in who we are—our perspectives, mindsets and beliefs—that coincides with changes in what we do and how we do it.
Successful transitions require clarity around the following:
· Motivations – What are the intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of your choices and behaviors? Why is this resolution important to you now?
· Bold Choices – What are the bold choices you need to make to accomplish this resolution? What supporting choices, both conscious and unconscious, do you need to be aware of that will impact your success?
· Courage – How will you muster the courage that change requires? Resolutions often impact others in your life. How will you address and manage these implications?
· Support – Who will stand by you through change and transition? Choices that render lasting impact often require encouragement and support of others. Who will be on your team?
It takes time and intention to build a strong foundation for making life changes. Yet finding structure and support to navigate these changes can be challenging.
If a New Year’s resolution is part of your 2020 plan, join us for Retreat/Reinvent/Recharge – a program designed for women embarking on professional and personal transitions.
Visit us at www.retreatreinventrecharge.com to learn about our resources including Transition on the Run, Transition with Support, and 5 Star Transition.
Register now for our next course starting January 14th at www.retreatreinventrecharge.com.
Norcross JC, Vangarelli, DJ. The Resolution Solution: Longitudinal Examination of New Year’s Change Attempts, 1988-1989; Journal of Substance Abuse 1(2): 127-34. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2980864