LEE DYE ON NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS
Lee Dye writes, “It’s that time of year again when we resolve to get off our duffs and run around the block more often, maybe even cut back on tall of those things which we know we aren’t supposed to eat, or drink or smoke. Ah yes, New Year’s Resolutions which for many of us should be called New Year’s Dissolutions. If you are one of the backsliders who breaks the first rule on your annual list before breakfast on New Year’s Day, you won’t find a lot of comfort in a new study by psychologists at the University of Washington. In a survey, the researchers found that most people keep the promise they put at the top of their list, at least for awhile. But here is the most interesting result of the survey. People are more willing to do something they know is right than give up something they know is wrong. 84% of those surveyed vowed to start doing something like exercising, which was the most common resolution of all. Only 14% vowed to give up something."
Then he offers these tips for keeping your New Year’s Resolutions:
- Make only one or two resolutions
- Choose resolutions you’ve been thinking about for awhile
- Choose to adopt a new good behavior rather than trying to shake an engrained bad habit
- Choose realisitic goals you feel confident you can meet
- If you don’t succeed, determine the barriers that blocked you and try again