You鈥檝e read the statistics. Only 64 percent of people stick with their New Year鈥檚 resolutions beyond the first month. That number drops to 46 percent six months into the year. So what can you do?
- Set goals鈥攁nd make them specific. Everyone wants to lose weight, run faster, and get stronger. But , like running a loop a minute faster per week.
- Embrace . Don鈥檛 dream only about your perfect future self鈥攚hen you incorporate practical visualization into those fantasies, scientists believe you鈥檒l have a better chance of making them come true. First, picture yourself sticking to your goals. Next, think through the obstacles in your way. Finally, lay out a plan to overcome those roadblocks.
- Hack your biology. You can train yourself to do anything鈥攆rom running every morning to reading books every evening鈥攚ithout having to rely on limited willpower. How? Turn that behavior into a habit, says Charles Duhigg, author of . It involves some self-conditioning, but anyone can make a desired behavior a habit. You just need a cue鈥斺渢he trigger for an automatic behavior to start,鈥 Duhigg says鈥攁nd a reward, the thing that makes your brain 鈥渓atch onto that pattern and remember it, which makes it automatic in the future.鈥
Want to run more? Leave your shoes by the door (the cue) and give yourself a reward for finishing, like a piece of chocolate. 鈥淓ventually, when you see the shoes, your brain will start craving the reward, which will make it easier to work out day after day,鈥 Duhigg writes. Soon enough, you鈥檒l view the run itself as the reward鈥攁nd a healthy habit is born.
Create Your Own Reboot
In this action plan, we鈥檝e identified 15 habits鈥攕ome serious, some absurd, others impossible鈥攖o set this year. Why 15? Why add the outlandish? Because goal setting should be personal, even if the science behind setting great goals is universal. Believe it or not, some people just don鈥檛 love coffee (habit #9) or can鈥檛 do without their phones (habit #15). So, begin with this checklist鈥攂ut don鈥檛 let it be the final word on your reboot.