Editorial: Off to a fresh start in 2024

CHENNAI: December was a month of lament, a time to realise what a disappointment one has been to oneself. As the year fades into the past, the resolution one had made 12 months prior is not easily recalled. What had it been after all? Was it to quit smoking? Or a pledge to lose weight? Or to call Mother more often? The resolutions of last January, like those of the United Nations, are fast forgotten. What a pity it is that we not only betray our best intentions, but do not even retain a memory to consecrate them?

According to one survey done by Forbes, the life of the average resolution made at the beginning of a year is 3.74 months. Each month of the year that follows is a graveyard of good intentions: 23% of the people drop their intent by the end of the first week, and 43% quit by the end of January. Less than 1 per cent are doughty enough to last till December.

Who is responsible for this carnage of new beginnings? The resolvers most certainly, but a good part of the blame must be apportioned to self-help gurus. One study done at the University of Hertfordshire in the UK found that most of the people who failed with their new year resolutions had adopted approaches recommended by self-help gurus. These recos, very popular with WhatsApp busybodies, run the whole gamut: fantasise about being successful; focus on the downside; suppress the cravings; adopt a role model; rely on willpower; try this health supplement, Rs 99 only.

They all suck, researchers say. You’re not going to get slim by sticking a picture of a svelte model on your fridge. But apparently, there’s a science to setting up a new year resolution. There’s a ton of scientific literature analysing what works and what doesn’t. One paper reported in PLOS ONE says action-oriented goals are more likely to succeed than avoidance-oriented ones. A lot of resolutions fail because they involve adopting new habits or changing existing ones. Both are complex behavioural processes that cannot be governed by will power alone.

Researchers recommend several new approaches to make resolutions stick. One is to set goals at a time of change or when there is pressing need for change—not necessarily at the turn of the year because it’s the fashion. Adopting a resolution for the sake of tradition is a recipe for failure. You’re more likely to succeed at quitting smoking when you’re flat broke. Nothing quits smoking faster than an empty wallet. Or as many die-hard smokers discovered, when Covid-19 is at the door.

The Hertfordshire study found that most people who aced the resolution game did a few things right: they adopted measurable goals rather than broad ideals and watched the metrics as they went along; they broke down the goal into smaller steps and rewarded themselves when they achieved them; and they announced their resolution to their friends. The last bit is the accountability principle. You do things better when you know that the good intention is not a secret known only to you.

A month of lament it may be, but December yields to the optimism of January. Even if evanescent and forgotten, resolutions serve as a guidance. As the Cheshire Cat said to Alice, if you do not much care where you go, it won’t matter which way you go. A resolution is an assertion that you do much care.