Category: Motivation

Here is my quick ten-step guide to making those New Year’s resolutions, based on hundreds of psychology studies.

One of the main reasons that New Year’s resolutions are so often forgotten before January is out is that they frequently require habit change.

And habits, without the right techniques, are highly resistant to change.

But because habits work unconsciously and automatically, we can tap into our in-built autopilot to get the changes we want.

So here is my quick ten-step guide to making those New Year’s resolutions, based on hundreds of psychology studies.

1. For big results, think small

The classic mistake people make when choosing their New Year’s resolutions is to bite off more than they can chew.

Even with the help of psychologists, people find it hard to make relatively modest changes.

So pick something you have a reasonable chance of achieving.

You can always run the process again for another habit once the first is running smoothly.

2. Mental contrasting and New Year’s resolutions

Choosing what to change about yourself and sticking to it isn’t easy.

There is a method you can use, though, to help sort the good ideas from the bad, and to help boost your commitment.

Mental contrasting is described in more detail here but in essence it’s about contrasting the positive aspects of your change with the barriers and difficulties you’ll face.

This helps you to be more realistic about what is possible.

Research has found that following this procedure makes people more likely to give up on plans that are unrealistic but also commit more strongly to plans they can do.

3. Make a very specific ‘if-then’ plan

The types of plans for change people make spontaneously are vague: things like: “I will be a better person” or “This year I’ll get fit”.

These are fine as overall aims but it’s much better to make really specific plans that link situations with actions.

For example, you might say to yourself: “If I feel hungry between meals, then I will eat an apple.”

When repeated these types of actions will help you achieve your overall goals.

4. Repeat your New Year’s resolutions

Habits build up by repeating the same action in the same situation.

Each time you repeat it, the habit gets stronger.

The stronger it gets, the more likely you are to perform it without having to consciously will it.

So, how long will the habit take to form?

Well, it depends on both the habit you’ve chosen and your personality.

The idea that it’s always 21 days is demonstrably wrong.

5. Tweak your New Year’s resolutions

Everyone is different, so what works for one person might not work for another.

Habit change is no different. If your very specific plan seems to be going wrong after a while, or doesn’t feel right, then it may need a tweak.

Try a different time of the day or performing the habit in a different way.

Habit change needs self-experimentation.

Are there any tweaks to your environment you can make?

Those trying to change eating habits might try buying smaller plates, putting fruit on the counter and avoiding TV dinners.

6. Don’t suppress…

An odd thing happens when we try to suppress thoughts: they come back stronger.

It turns out that thought suppression is counter-productive.

The same with habits: if you try to push the thought of cake out of your mind, suddenly it will be everywhere.

7. …instead replace

Habits cannot be killed off.

It’s like the old saying that you never forget how to ride a bike.

Old habits are lying there in the back of your mind waiting to be cued off by familiar situations.

It’s much better to plan a new good habit to replace the bad old one.

Try to learn a new response to a familiar old cue.

For example, if worrying makes you bite your nails, then, when you worry, do something else with your hands, like making a hot drink, or doodling.

8. Shield yourself

There’s bound to be some competition between old and new habits at first.

This is normal.

Try to notice or anticipate what the mental danger points will be and plan for them.

For example, you may want to get up earlier but know that you’ll feel lazy when you wake up.

Plan to think about something that will make you jump out of bed, like an activity you are looking forward to doing that day.

9. Pre-commit to New Year’s resolutions

We’re most likely to give in to old habits when we’re tired, low and hungry.

So pre-commit to your new habit when your self-control is strong.

For example, clear all the unhealthy food and drink out of the house, cut up the credit card or give the gaming controller to a friend for safe-keeping.

Getting in the habit of planning ahead is one of the best ways of keeping your New Year’s resolutions.

10. Self-affirmation of New Year’s resolutions

Another trick to boost your self-control in the moment is to positive affirmations.

This involves simply thinking about something that is important to you, like your friends, family or a higher ideal.

Studies suggest this can boost depleted willpower, even when your ideas aren’t connected to the habit you are trying to ingrain.

The habit of habit change

Once you’ve successfully ingrained a modest new habit, it’s time to go back to square one, choose a new habit to work on and start again.

This is the best, most sustainable path to self re-invention—forget about waking up tomorrow a totally different person.

Instead go little-by-little, step-by-step, and eventually you will get there.

Forget all that haring around, be the tortoise.

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The common advice to ‘find your passion’ when looking for a new career, hobby or interest could be misplaced.

Passions need to be sought out rather than just stumbled upon, research suggests.

Being open to all possibilities and taking an interest in everything that comes your way could lead to a new hobby, passion or even career.

The common advice to ‘find your passion’ when looking for a new career, hobby or interest could be misplaced.

It suggests that passions are there just waiting to be discovered.

This ‘fixed mindset’ encourages people to concentrate on their existing interests.

Instead, adopting a growth mindset helps people open up to new areas of interest.

It can also make them more likely to stick at those interests despite difficulties along the way, psychologists have found.

The study’s authors write:

“A growth theory, by contrast, leads people to express greater interest in new areas, to anticipate that pursuing interests will sometimes be challenging, and to maintain greater interest when challenges arise.”

The conclusion comes from a study in which people were encouraged to read an article that either coincided with their interests or not.

People who had a fixed mindset didn’t pay much attention to the article that was outside their interests.

However, people with a growth mindset got into the article, even though it wasn’t their usual thing.

Other tests in the same study also suggested that having a growth mindset would encouraged people to push on through barriers.

Moral of the story: take an interest in everything, you might be surprised where a new passion can come from.

Dr Paul A O’Keefe, the study’s first author, said:

“Encouraging people to develop their passion can not only promote a growth theory, but also suggests that it is an active process, not passive.

A hidden positive implication of a growth theory is the expectation that pursuing one’s interests and passions will be difficult at times because people are less likely to give up on them when faced with a challenge.”

The study was published in the journal Psychological Science (O’Keefe et al., 2018).

Pre-existing beliefs can stop people finding their true passion, research finds.

Visualising activities done in the past can help people find their true passion, a study finds.

However, it is critical to do this visualisation in the first person to avoid biases.

When thinking back, it is important to imagine what you saw, heard, felt and thought from your own perspective.

The key is to re-think, re-feel and re-hear exactly what you previously experienced.

Only then can you get a clue to your true passions.

Unfortunately, memories of pleasure and satisfaction are easily blocked by pre-existing beliefs, explained Mr Zachary Niese, the study’s first author:

“When we are developing our interests and looking back on our memories, I don’t think we realize how biased we can be by our pre-existing beliefs.

People think they know themselves and know if they liked something or not, but often they can be misled by their own thoughts.”

For example, a young girl might enjoy a science summer camp at the time.

However, this positive memory can be blocked by a belief that “science is not for girls”.

In other words, stereotypes can hold people back from their passions.

First-person visualisations, though, can help side-step this bias, the researchers found.

Dr Lisa Libby, study co-author, said:

“We can use imagery as a tool to tap into our memories and more accurately identify what our actual experiences are instead of relying on our old beliefs.

People sometimes have experiences that are inconsistent with what they think about themselves.

We may think we don’t like math, so if we enjoy a math class, that doesn’t fit in with our view of ourselves, so we dismiss that positive experience.

That’s what using first-person visual imagery helps overcome.”

For one of the studies in the research, 253 women took part in an experiment that tested their interest and enjoyment of science.

The results showed that women’s pre-existing beliefs about how interesting science is determined their experience.

In fact, at the time, many enjoyed a science-based game they were asked to play.

However, they couldn’t remember enjoying it afterwards because their pre-existing beliefs blocked the memory.

To unlock the memory of enjoyment, they had to use first-person imagery.

Mr Niese said:

“Part of what is so interesting and surprising about our study is that a simple manipulation — just the way people think about a past event — is changing their conclusions about what they’re doing and whether they’re interested or not.

It’s something people could do on their own if they wanted to and gain these benefits in situations where cultural stereotypes or pre-existing beliefs might be likely to bias their judgment or cloud their memories.”

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (Niese et al., 2019).

The key to eating healthily, reducing alcohol consumption and exercising more.

Visualisation is the psychological key to getting more exercise and improving diet, research finds.

Visualising eating healthily, reducing alcohol consumption and exercising more all help people change their behaviour.

The more people visualise the necessary behaviours, the more motivated they become to change.

Professor Martin Hagger, study co-author, said:

“There are strong links between chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes and behaviour, and imagery-based interventions offer an inexpensive, effective way of promoting healthy behaviours such as physical activity and healthy eating.

We found that people who simply visualised the steps necessary to do the healthy behaviour on a regular basis were more likely to be motivated, and actually do, the healthy behaviour.”

The researchers synthesised the results of 26 different studies to test the optimum circumstances for visualisation.

They revealed that imagery worked better when:

• People were given text message reminders,
• the visualisation lasted longer,
• and they had detailed instructions.

Professor Hagger said:

“Previous studies have shown that imagery interventions have been used in various contexts including enhancing athletes’ performance, flight simulation training for aircraft pilots and for symptom relief in hospital settings.

Our research shows that imagery is also effective for promoting participation in healthy behaviours.

Our findings may not only be of interest to health professionals around the world, but could be of interest and potentially implemented within other industries.”

The study was published in the journal Health Psychology (Conroy & Hagger, 2018).

The thought made people more confident and boosted their performance.

Imagining a clear picture of a successful future can help motivate people to succeed, research finds.

Looking to the future — and focusing on a positive future identity — helps people deal with everyday stressful situations.

For the study, students from vulnerable backgrounds wrote about either their past or future successes.

Those who imagined positive futures were more motivated to take action.

They also displayed more confident body language in a mock interview and better performance in an academic test.

The effects were particularly beneficial for female students.

Dr Mesmin Destin, the study’s first author, said:

“The theory of identity-based motivation proposes that activating a focus on a successful future identity may be especially powerful in motivating students who are vulnerable during challenging academic situations to develop a sense of action readiness.

This involves feeling ready and able to take appropriate action when confronting difficulty.”

For the study, hundreds of students were given a mock interview after writing about their past or future success.

They were then given a difficult academic test.

Researchers looked at body language and the amount of effort students put into the test.

Dr Destin said:

“Activating imagined successful future identities appears to provide a potential pathway to enable vulnerable students to effectively navigate everyday stressors.

The findings therefore suggest that certain students may benefit from strategies that remind them to visualize their successful futures prior to any difficult and important task that they might otherwise be likely to avoid.”

The study was published in the journal Motivation and Emotion (Destin et al., 2018).