If the idea of making New Year’s resolutions fills you with dread, consider ditching the tradition. Science suggests most people who set resolutions each year don’t stick with them, and mental health experts say other strategies for adopting healthier habits work better.
A frequently cited study from 1988 that followed 200 people found that 77 percent of them stuck with their resolutions after one week, 43 percent stuck with them three months out, and 19 percent stuck with them for two years, with many citing a lack of willpower.
Another study found only 46 percent of resolvers reported success at sticking to their resolutions six months after the new year.
The problem is that we often set unrealistic goals, explains Seth Gillihan, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, and the author of Mindful Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Simple Path to Healing, Hope, and Peace. “We try to make a really big change and we try to do it all at once,” Dr. Gillihan notes.
For example, thinking we can suddenly completely overhaul our eating habits on January 1 — when we ate whatever we wanted up until the day before — is probably a goal that’s going to fail, Gillihan says.
The social pressure around New Year’s resolutions doesn’t help either, suggests Camilla Nonterah, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Richmond in Virginia, who researches mental health in underserved groups and minority populations.
You may not be wanting to make a change for the right reasons, Dr. Nonterah says. “It may just be this sense of ‘Oh, this is something I should do.’”
But the good news is that setting a goal for healthier behavior and sticking with it is possible, both Nonterah and Gillihan agree. To boost your chances for success in adopting healthier habits, choose small steps rather than grand leaps and gestures, and be strategic with each of those steps along the way.
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9 Better Ways to Go About Behavior Change
Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, follow this advice to help make healthy habits stick.
1. If You’re Going to Make a Change, Pick the Time That’s Right for You
There’s nothing magical about the first of January that makes it easier to achieve goals than it would be at other times of the year, says Gillihan. If you prefer exercising outside when it’s warmer out, for example, plan to start that new running routine in the spring. Do what makes sense for you, and consider what’s possible at the moment. For example, if exercise is your goal but it’s too cold out, what type of workout can you do to meet your goal indoors?
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2. Get Specific About Your Goals
Start with the SMART framework for goal-setting, which was first developed as a business success strategy, according to a paper on using the SMART framework for behavioral change. The framework suggests goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based. The point is that you’re more likely to reach a goal if you define it in specific terms, according to the paper.
So, pledge to run twice a week instead of “become a runner,” for example. The goal should also be realistic to achieve — aiming to run a 5K before a marathon, for example — and have a definitive end-date or milestone you can reach, such as signing up for a scheduled fun-run or race, so it’s on the calendar.
3. Change Your Environment to Set Yourself Up for Success
Don’t count on motivation and willpower alone to accomplish your goals. Set yourself up for success by changing your surroundings to encourage healthy behavior, Gillihan says.
That might mean buying more fruits and vegetables at the grocery store or charging your phone out of reach at night so you aren’t tempted to pick up the device and doom scroll. Whatever the goal may be, make sure your environment makes it as easy as possible to reach it, Gillihan explains. “You have to change the system.”
4. Surround Yourself With Supporters
Round up your personal cheerleading squad and keep them at the ready, Nonterah says. If your goal is to eat healthier, consider asking a friend or family member to grocery shop with you to remind you to make more nutritious shopping choices, she says. Or invite a friend over to cook a healthy meal with you.
Other members of your support team could include your doctor, a therapist, a personal trainer, an exercise buddy, or a peer support group (virtual or in-person).
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5. Spot the Saboteurs
Likewise, if certain people feel uncomfortable with your goals or with the behavior changes you want to make — especially if it’s an old habit they still enjoy — recognize that and be prepared to stick with your goals, even if they try to persuade you to do otherwise.
Remember that you don’t need to defend or even explain your personal choices, Gillihan says. Instead, be firm with them about your decisions at the outset. He suggests letting people know what they need to in the simplest way possible. If, for example, you’re trying to drink less, you can just say: “No thanks, I’m not drinking tonight.” You don’t need to explain yourself further, Gillihan adds. “You’re not responsible for removing other people’s discomfort.”
6. Experiment
Specificity can help you clearly understand what your goals are and identify steps you might need to take to get there. But a less rigid approach at other times can be strategic, too, says Gillihan. To spend less time on his phone, Gillihan says he experimented with taking apps off his phone for a short period of time.
When you treat your goal as an experiment, you can learn as you go, he says. Try committing to a new behavior for a month rather than for the rest of all time, he suggests. That way there’s an opportunity to shift the goal based on what is and is not working.
7. Automate Cues to Keep Yourself on Track
Again, don’t rely on motivation and willpower alone. Automated reminders, like phone alerts or alarms to alert you to drink more water or take a break from sitting, and visual cues — Post-it notes on your mirror, for example, to remind you not to skip the gym — make it easier to stick with a routine change, Nonterah says. Tracking progress via an app or with a pen and paper can also help keep you on pace.
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8. Accept Barriers That Are Out of Your Control
Worrying about what you can’t change usually just increases your anxiety and makes you feel discouraged, Nonterah says. If you can’t afford to hire a personal trainer, for example, there’s nothing you can do about that. Instead, she says, focus on: “What can I do with what I have?” Be realistic about what you can achieve.
9. Keep Trying
Behavior change is hard, Nonterah says. So don’t be discouraged if you don’t reach 100 percent of your goal the first few times. Just keep trying with the strategies outlined above.
“If you do something 80 percent of the time, that’s a lot better than not doing it at all,” Gillihan adds.
