2012 is just around the corner, and people all over the world are making promises to themselves and others that they may not keep. Yep, it’s New Years resolution time.
Confession time: I’m not so great at keeping resolutions. And apparently, I’m not alone. According to a 2010 study, 60% of all Americans have made resolutions at some point in their lives, and 41% did so in 2011. Unfortunately:
- Only 23% surveyed indicated that they had made “significant, long-term” change in 2010
- 29% said they had made a “minor change”
- Approximately 49% made no change at all
So there’s no point in making resolutions, right? Based on this research, isn’t your chance of failure greater than your chance of success?
Mathematically speaking, it doesn’t work out that way. That’s because events like success or failure of a New Years resolution are not random.
Rolling a die is random. (You have just as much chance of rolling a 3 as a 5.) Picking a certain card from a full deck is random. (You have just as much chance of choosing the queen of hearts as the two of spades.) And flipping a coin is random. (You have a 50/50 chance of the coin landing on heads.)
But you can’t judge your success or failure in making resolutions based on the research that is done on others’ experiences. Whether you keep or break a resolution is not random.
In fact, there’s tons of research out there that shows why some folks are able to keep their resolutions, while others are not so successful. Here are some suggestions:
1. Keep it simple. When you make huge lists of resolutions and complex plans for keeping them, it’s likely that your brain just can’t keep up. In fact, willpower is the first thing to go.
2. Believe in yourself. People who believe they can meet their goals actually do!
3. Get support from others. When you’re made accountable for your actions, it’s easier to stick to your plans.
4. Be specific. Think of your long-term goal as a series of smaller steps and focus on each one individually.
5. Remember that change is a process. Setbacks will happen. It’s what you do with those little failures that make a difference in your ultimate success.
For the next month, we’ll take a week-by-week look at New Years resolutions — and how math can help you meet your goals. Stay turned!
P.S. If your New Year’s resolution has anything to do with saving money, losing weight or learning new hobbies — but the math around those goals is frustrating at best — Math for Grownups could be a big help!
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Why or why not? How successful have you been in the past? Care to share this year’s resolutions?