Niedługo zapoznamy się z najnowszym, wiosennym, numerem naszego czasopisma anglojęzycznego AimHigh, a tymczasem możemy przeczytać świetny tekst Oli Zakrzewskiej (3c Liceum), w którym zastanawia się, jak sprawić, aby nasze postanowienia (noworoczne, postne, etc.) okazały się sukcesem. Zapraszamy!
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Why only 8% of people will fulfill their New Year’s resolutions?
Many people have decided this year “for good” change their lives with New Year’s resolutions. USUALLY (apart from this special year), in January fitness centers have 1/3 more customers than in any other time of the year. But 25% of people quit after the first week, 29% after two weeks, 36% do so after a month and 50% after six months. Ultimately, as much as 92% of these resolutions are abandoned. In this article I am going to introduce you to some methods, which, as it was proven in researches, can help you achieve your goals.
The New Year has a ‘symbolic’ power to separate the past – which cannot be changed anymore – and the future that we can influence. This is a great opportunity to work on yourself and make changes. What do we want to change? According to statistics, the most common goals are to quit smoking, changing weight and improving financial situation. But how to do it?!?!?! It’s high time to get down to brass tacks and show you some crucial tips.
Change behaviors, not concepts. Instead of saying: I will stop eating sweets, say: I will eat fruit, instead of a candy bar. You have to be particular to the max. 90% of New Year’s plans are defined abstractly, so the brain does not receive clear instructions and cannot remember or follow them. Focus on simple, small and specific steps that you can easily perform and measure every day.
Better too little than too much. Taking on too much and trying to make changes in every area of your life you will become frustrated. Awareness of the change and the honest willingness to implement is truly motivating, so the path of it should be well planned to not burn out too soon. The size of the goal does not matter as much as the consistency in achieving it, step by step, and the visible results.
The plan. Knowing what motivates you makes it easier to determine the form of achieving goals. Ask yourself the key questions, e.g.’What and why exactly do I want to achieve?’, ‘How will I achieve it?’
Having a concrete plan gives you a much better chance of success. It’s a good idea to print it and hang in a few visible places around. Thanks to this, the brain will be systematically stimulated and will not forget about them.
Failure. I know that talking about failure after motivating content is not really optimistic. But I want to prepare you for a crisis too. We usually make excuses with what we call “the lack of willpower”. Stanford University research disproves this myth – it turns out that belief in our strength determines what results we achieve. We have as much strength as we think that we have. The will is like a muscle that can be exercised. So the more often we expose ourselves to temptation and do not succumb, the stronger our will we build. With time it becomes easier to control yourself and deciding to take specific actions. So don’t give up, because it is process, and every failure will makes you stronger!
I hope that you the mentioned tips will be of any use in your planning to change, and, at the end of the year, you will say “I have taken a turn for the better”. GOOD LUCK!
Ola Zakrzewska (3c Liceum)
