I should have called this segment, “Where New Year’s Resolutions go to die,” because the answer apparently is February. Studies show that while almost half of us make resolutions in January, most of us give it all of 30 days, abandoning our goal by the next month.
I can’t say that I failed because Dry January had a beginning, a middle, and an achieved end. But the fact that I didn’t experience lasting change by modifying my behavior for one month has left me feeling, well, like a failure.
Apparently, I am not alone. Psychologists suggest that there may be an entire cycle of defeat at work here. We set unrealistic goals and when we fail the resulting hit to our self-esteem bleeds into other aspects of our life. In that sense, making a New Year’s resolution can actually do more harm than good.
The premise appears to be that if we are using our resolutions to attempt lofty goals or to reinvent ourselves, then we’re doomed to fail. And if you really want to get depressed, read about the “False Hope Syndrome,” identified by psychology professors Peter Herman and Janet Polivy, which basically posits that when we set a difficult if not impossible task for ourselves and ultimately fail, we interpret our failure in such a way that, with a few adjustments, we believe success to be within our grasp next time around. Like hamsters on a wheel, we continue the cycle of failure, renewed attempt, failure. Possibly indefinitely.
To put the final nail on my resolution coffin, statistics show that attempts to rid ourselves of unhealthy behaviors that are intrinsically rewarding, like over-eating or drinking alcohol, might just fall into that “impossible goal” category. So when I revisit my January text to see that, indeed, a great part of my New Year’s resolution involves losing weight and moderating my drinking, I can only think, yep. Hamster on the wheel.
Because I’ve always been of the belief that we fail ... until we don’t. I am my own Renee Zellweger. I just happen to be in my Bridget Jones Diary phase. Chicago is just around the corner. Which apparently makes me the very incarnation of the False Hope Syndrome.
So welcome February. Take a seat. Have a cocktail. While I try to figure out how to modify my goals and get them out of the gutter of unrealistic. Possibly make some real progress.
This is my year of change. I hope you join me.
Please feel free to comment below.
I can’t say that I failed because Dry January had a beginning, a middle, and an achieved end. But the fact that I didn’t experience lasting change by modifying my behavior for one month has left me feeling, well, like a failure.
Apparently, I am not alone. Psychologists suggest that there may be an entire cycle of defeat at work here. We set unrealistic goals and when we fail the resulting hit to our self-esteem bleeds into other aspects of our life. In that sense, making a New Year’s resolution can actually do more harm than good.
The premise appears to be that if we are using our resolutions to attempt lofty goals or to reinvent ourselves, then we’re doomed to fail. And if you really want to get depressed, read about the “False Hope Syndrome,” identified by psychology professors Peter Herman and Janet Polivy, which basically posits that when we set a difficult if not impossible task for ourselves and ultimately fail, we interpret our failure in such a way that, with a few adjustments, we believe success to be within our grasp next time around. Like hamsters on a wheel, we continue the cycle of failure, renewed attempt, failure. Possibly indefinitely.
To put the final nail on my resolution coffin, statistics show that attempts to rid ourselves of unhealthy behaviors that are intrinsically rewarding, like over-eating or drinking alcohol, might just fall into that “impossible goal” category. So when I revisit my January text to see that, indeed, a great part of my New Year’s resolution involves losing weight and moderating my drinking, I can only think, yep. Hamster on the wheel.
Because I’ve always been of the belief that we fail ... until we don’t. I am my own Renee Zellweger. I just happen to be in my Bridget Jones Diary phase. Chicago is just around the corner. Which apparently makes me the very incarnation of the False Hope Syndrome.
So welcome February. Take a seat. Have a cocktail. While I try to figure out how to modify my goals and get them out of the gutter of unrealistic. Possibly make some real progress.
This is my year of change. I hope you join me.
Please feel free to comment below.
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