Blogocentric Formulations

Habits not Resolutions

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Andre's Fractured Resolutions
Week 2 | Prompt 1 ▼

I hereby resolve NOT to make any New Year's Resolutions at all.

I was listening to a podcast the other day (Episode 103 of Offline with Jon Favreau   titled "The Science of Achieving (and Enjoying) Your New Years' Resolution"), which included an interview with Wharton professor Katy Milkman about the limits of willpower, the science behind habit formation, and ideas for building incentives to accomplish your goals. My big takeaway was that trying to accomplish something by willpower alone is almost always destined for failure. Basically, willpower saps your energy, so trying to "push through" something with sheer force of will usually ends with you hitting a wall, exhausted, and then giving up.

The recommendation for those who want to form better habits is to create incentives and alternatives that are appealing to you. If you're trying to eat healthier, get rid of all the junk food in your house and replace it with something better. By creating a barrier to the bad behavior (you have to go out and buy junk food if you want it), you make it more likely that you'll make a good decision. Keep in mind though, that "better alternative" doesn't always mean you have to set unrealistic standards. If you swap our your Doritos for raw kale, you're probably still going to drive to the nearest convenience store to get Doritos when you have a craving. But if you swap out your Doritos with a healthier chip or similar snack, it's more likely you'll say, "Ugh, I'd have to drive all the way to the store to get Doritos... I guess these veggie sticks or mixed nuts will give me that crunch I'm looking for..."

The other option is to create incentives so you want to do the new habit. If you hate going to the gym, is there other exercise that you do enjoy? Maybe a hike or a bike ride outdoors? What about swimming instead of huffing away on a treadmill? Or what if you gave yourself an incentive to go to the gym... like if you manage to go every day for a week, you'll allow yourself to have a reward.

The optimal solution is to combine both (which is called "habit stacking"), where you create multiple incentives at the same time. Let's say you want to lose weight and get in shape. You could replace the bad snacks at home with healthier options, and sign up for a gym. You could set an incentive where, if you can go five days without slipping (i.e., missing a gym day or eating a bad snack) then on the weekend you can treat yourself to a dessert with dinner. Or have a small serving of that snack you've been craving all week.

Maybe the trick is to not make any definitive resolutions at all, because resolutions by definition imply achievement by willpower. Maybe the key to achieving your goals is less resolving to change and more building habits that naturally facilitate the change you seek.


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