Rebranding Your New Year’s Resolution

Maybe you’ve noticed it’s a bit more crowded at the gym? It’s that time of year–the first few weeks of January when so many of us resolve to lose weight, work out, eat better, quit smoking and on and on. The New Year’s Resolution, of course, carries a common connotation as a short-term event, one that burns out after a few inspiring weeks.

According to one study conducted at the University of Hertfordshire, nearly eighty percent of New Year’s resolutions end in failure. Even so, many coaches remain convinced that skipping resolutions altogether is not the answer.

Caroline Adams Miller, a coach and author who’s studied the art and science of setting–and achieving–goals says even if huge numbers of people fail at their resolutions, many people do make positive, lasting change in their lives. “There is evidence that setting goals pays off at this time of year,” said Miller, who tends to refer to resolutions as “goals.”

“One of the things that we, as coaches, need to know is that goal-setting is a science and that we need to be respectful of the fact that not all goals are created equal,” said Miller.

Missouri coach Deann Manning suggests getting away from the New Year’s resolution mentality–but keeping the idea of making change in the New Year–can empower clients to accomplish the change they’re looking for. “Instead of resolutions, make goals and write out the steps to achieve them,” said Manning.

Coach Julia Stewart uses any word that resonates: “I change the name according to what lights up my clients. Some like dreams, some like goals, some are fine with resolutions.”

If a New Year’s resolution comes with a kind of “get out of jail free” card that allows a client to give up without shame a few weeks into the New Year, switching the language–and adopting a strategy–can make a major difference.

Caroline Adams Miller suggests taking a client’s resolution, rebranding it as a “goal,” and using the following guidelines:

1. Have short-term and long-term goals, because the happiest people wake up every day to clear-cut and meaningful goals that give their lives purpose

2. Goals must be created by you because they are attached to your own drives and values. Never adopt a goal because you think you “should” do so.

3. Don’t adopt more than one self-regulation (willpower) goal at a time. We only have so much willpower that we wake up with every day, and setting too many willpower goals (smoking/weight loss/spending) can result in failure unless we understand this research.

4. Watch your social circle for signs of contagious behavior. You must be surrounded by positive and empowered people in order for us to make progress on what is important to us, and we only want to “catch” what will help us.

5. Get a little bit happier to have the highest shot at success. Research conclusively proves that success comes from happiness, and not vice versa. So we want to be in as flourishing a spot as possible before we go after hard goals.

Richard Wiseman, the UK psychologist who conducted the research on resolutions agrees, telling the British newspaper The Guardian, “Many of the most successful techniques involve making a plan and helping yourself stick to it.”

And Caroline Adams Miller’s advice to keep the focus on the positivity of making change in a new year rings true with researchers who’ve found the people who really do follow through on New Year’s resolutions feel good about what they’re doing. “‘If you resolve to go to the gym because you think you should, you’ll fail,” said Phil Mattingly, a hypnotherapist. “But if you resolve to go because you’re inspired to run a half-marathon for charity, your chances are much better.”

“Most people struggle with their New Year resolutions because they set them badly without realizing it. Those mistakes are avoidable, but most people are never taught how to set a good resolution,” said Mattingly.

And many coaches believe the fastest, strongest path to setting a good resolution is to get away from the cliche of setting a New Year’s resolution, and into the concrete concept of making a decision to change. “To avoid cliches, I drop into the details,” said coach Andrea J. Lee. The more detailed, the better, she says: “Gritty, granular, tiny.”

To learn more about setting goals–and the role of positive thinking–listen to CoachReporter Mark Joyella’s (20 minute) interview with Caroline Adams Miller here:

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