Making Resolutions That Stick

This year, Im going to stop worrying so much.""I will get in shape, once and for all.""Ill stop spending beyond my means.""Ill get along better with my family.""Ill start that business Ive always dreamed about." Have you made a resolution similar to one of these? Some of us want to lose weight, become more organized, or quit smoking. Others want to find a sense of purpose, more work/life balance, the courage to leave an unfulfilling career and start over. Whether its New Years Day, an important birthday, or just because were fed up, at some point we vow to make that one leap or give up the thing that plagues us. But by the time the rosy blush of good intentions wears off, the resolution gets pushed aside. Not because we dont still long to have what we want, but because we just dont know how to change. We say were going to change, we may even do it for a little while, but soon we find ourselves back to our old habits. Depending on what survey youve paying attention to, approximately 45 percent of us make New Years resolutions, but only 8 percent succeed. Ninety percent of heart patients dont stick to the lifestyle changes they need to live longer and healthier lives. Even faced with the dramatic choice to change or die, they cant do it. I dont believe they want to die. They just dont know how to make the choice for life.Part of the problem is that were flooded by bad advice. Right now, Im staring at a womens magazine. Its the November 28th issue and the headline blares: YOU, 43 LBS SLIMMER By Christmas! Im sorry but you, no matter who you are, are not going to be 43 pounds slimmer in 28 days using their diet or anyone elses. Such irresponsible "advice" does a great deal of harm. Because it creates unrealistic expectations, it increases the probability well give up before we get where we want to go. You and I can change. Not just superficially, or temporarily. We can stop doing the things that hold us back or cause us suffering and create a life filled with meaning and happiness. But its not easy, as anyone who has tried to change a habit or do something new knows. To bring new behavior into being takes work. Our brains have enormous "plasticity," meaning they can create new cells and pathways. But our brains create strong tendencies to do the same thing over and over. Heres why: our neurons (brain cells) that fire together wire together. Meaning, they have a strong tendency to run the same program the next time. Thats why lasting change takes lots of practice; youve got to create a pathway to the new options. (Six to nine months, say many brain scientists--so much for those seven-day wonder programs.) The process is not about getting rid of bad habitsthe pathway to your current behavior is there for life, babybut building new, more positive ones. Even stopping doing something, like smoking, is really about creating a good new habit, nonsmoking.

M.J. Ryan is one of the creators of the New York Times bestselling Random Acts of Kindness series and the author of The Happiness Makeover (nominated for the 2005 Books for Better Living award in the Motivational category), Attitudes of Gratitude, The Power of Patience, Trusting Yourself, The Giving Heart, and 365 Health and Happiness Boosters, among other titles. Altogether, there are 1.75 million copies of her titles in print. For more information, visit http://mj-ryan.com