I make weird rules for myself all the time. One week, I'm not allowed to eat chocolate. Another week I can't drink beer. Sometimes I delete the Facebook app from my phone. These are rules that I place upon myself randomly to try to become "a better person". I'm pretty disciplined so often I can make it the week without whatever vice and move on. I mean... it IS only a week. What if I tried to force some habit for a whole YEAR? No, I don't think I'd be very good at that. I mean, who can say what your life will be like in 6 months? You might really need that chocolate after a long day of work. That is why I don't do New Year's Resolutions. The future is just too uncertain to place that much stress on myself! Or maybe I'm just scared...
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| My resolution would def be to be able to bench press at LEAST 2 cats. Psh.. chump! |
So, like any other socially engaged person, I hit up Facebook to see how my friends feel about making resolutions.
I asked my friends their thoughts on New Year's Resolutions. 3 friends gave me their resolution that they've made, and 1 listed his anti-resolution opinion. I was actually quite impressed at all responses. One of my friends, Marcus, had a refreshing goal of living happily with less. He didn't leave it there, he listed specific items he planned to purge from his life (some he already had!). Getting rid of things like the television, video games, and other electronics was his first step to meeting his goal. My beautiful mother had a similar resolution of purging unused items. She listed specifically that closets and drawers will be cleaned out and reorganized. Finally, derby league-mate Tracy listed her simple resolution of reviving a weekly cocktail hour with a friend despite their busy schedules.
I liked these resolutions because they were so specific. They seem driven. I wondered if being more specific effected the success of a resolution. Or if even the simple task of telling another person (or many people if online) would effect the success.
It appears that both of those actions, creating a specific goal and telling friends, increase the chances of accomplishing your goals!
This article by John Tierney said that in 2002 a study was done at the University of Scranton following resolutioners. "By the end of January, 36 percent of them had broken their resolutions.
After that, the failures happened more slowly. Half were still keeping
their resolutions in March, and by July the success rate was still 44
percent — less than half, admittedly, but still impressive compared with
a control group of people who had the same goals (like losing weight)
but didn’t make formal resolutions. Only 4 percent of the control group
made progress," wrote John.
Another friend, a derby referee actually (so... frenemy? ha!), said that he isn't into the yearly resolution. Jeff said, "
Cory is best known for The Billy Nayer Chronicles (stemmed from his band The Billy Nayer Show), Sundance Film Festival's first multi-media event in 1995. Then, in 2001, for The American Astronaut, a story about a space cowboy! Okay, it is more serious and Westerny-cool than that. But he is a cowboy of sorts, and there is space involved. A perfect combination if you ask me. Check 
