Christoph Egel’s Friday Post - New Year’s Resolution - Be S.M.A.R.T and succeed
In my blog last week I talked about how frustratingly little success many of us have with our New Year’s Resolution: according to research conducted at the Department of Psychology at University of Scranton and published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, just 46% of resolutions survive the first 6 months and only 19% of people manage to keep their New Year’s resolutions for two years.
In a related article posted at findapsychologist.org, though, Dr. John Norcross, one of the researchers from the University of Scranton sees at a glass half full rather than half empty: “scientific research indicates that you are 10 times more likely to change by making a New Year’s resolution compared to non-resolvers with the identical goals and comparable motivation to change.”
He also provides “evidence-based tips for creating and keeping your New Year’s Resolution. These are based on research studies tracking successful resolvers. In other words, here’s what separates successful from unsuccessful resolvers” … namely to set realistic and attainable goals, to develop a specific action plan, and to publicly declare your resolution. According to him, “confidence (or self-efficacy, as psychologists call it) is a potent predictor of who succeeds in the new year.”
Interestingly, another article posted at Scranton’s Small Business Blog describes a highly effective goal setting tool, albeit from a business perspective: S.M.A.R.T. Goals.
S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound. When it comes to weight loss strategies for success, the Mayo Clinic suggests to think about both process and outcome when setting goals: “It isn’t essential that you have an outcome goal, but you should set process goals because changing your processes — your habits — is a key to weight loss. … An example of a SMART goal is aiming to walk for 30 minutes a day, five days a week for the next three months, and logging your results."
Obviously the Mayo Clinic staff believes it is smart to apply proven business practices to weight loss strategies - and diligently following these practices could well make all the difference between success and failure when it comes to your New Year’s Resolution!
[photo used with cc permission from cleferson on sxc.hu]