If you’ve ever failed to keep a New Year’s Resolution you’ve got plenty of company.
In fact, according to a Princeton study, 92% of all resolutions fail because we imagine our future selves will find more time, be more disciplined and be more capable of complete self-control.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B7GpIcJzXc
To understand this thought process, let me introduce you to Present Bob and his best friend Future Bob.
Present Bob happens to be a complete pushover for anything in the realm of instant gratification. He loves junk food, hates exercise, and he’s spectacularly resourceful at finding excuses to avoid unpleasant tasks.
His best friend … Future Bob … is an amazing fellow. Future Bob has boundless energy, loves to exercise, eat healthily, and tackles unpleasant tasks quickly and efficiently.
Each year, about a week before Christmas, Bob vows to turn over a new leaf starting January 1st when he envisions himself magically transforming into Future Bob.
Present Bob doesn’t know it, but just the decision to change gives him a massive jolt of positive-feeling neurotransmitters and instant gratification because he envisions himself being Future Bob without expending the slightest effort.
What’s more, since Present Bob is convinced of his upcoming metamorphosis, he grants himself permission to eat and drink whatever he wants all through the holidays without a trace of guilt because he’s convinced himself that come New Year’s day he will begin a new life of health and discipline.
The New Year’s Eve Syndrome is both a runaway success and a colossal failure as a strategy for change.
It’s successful because it’s such a clever gimmick for justifying instant gratification. Resolving to change gives us all the good feelings of becoming our future self without the messy business of actually taking any action.
And it’s a colossal failure because we set ourselves up to subconsciously accept failure as a way of life. After all, Present Bob’s wishful thinking doesn’t stand a hope in hell of transforming him into Future Bob.
By the second week of January, Present Bob will have forgotten all about Future Bob, which begins another year.
See, here’s the thing, there is no future you … there’s only the Present you, and there will never be anyone other than the Present you. For you to change, you have to make changes today. The only person who will ever wake up in each one of your tomorrows is the Present You … and that’s why the only thing that really matters is what you do today.
If you really want a positive outcome this year, follow these simple steps, and you’ll join the minority ranks of the successful 8%!
Step Number One
You have to know that what you’re going to accomplish has a very high chance of long-term success. Using weight loss as an example, if all you have is a specific diet and a desire to lose weight, your chances of long-term success are virtually zero. However, suppose you have a process in which you can design an enjoyable lifestyle that will achieve and maintain your goals. In that case, you will succeed … guaranteed.
Step Number Two
Follow a sound plan. When you start to see results based on your new lifestyle, the most wonderful thing of all will happen … you’ll develop real motivation, not that fluffy motivation that comes from self-help gurus and non-sensical testimonials, but the inspiration that’s grounded in logic and fueled by extreme confidence.
Step Number Three
You have to start. But starting doesn’t mean getting on your horse and riding off in all directions. Using weight loss as an example, start means that you’re going to begin the process of designing a lifestyle that will get you where you want to be … not by February or March, but instead you’re going to think about lasting change, and that means being in a great place at least one year from today … and then for the rest of your life. Everything worthwhile takes time and patience.
If you’re going to make a New Year’s Eve Resolution, take it seriously. Do not set yourself up for failure because failure becomes easier and more subconsciously acceptable each time you do. Instead, figure out how to make your New Year’s Resolution a permanent part of your life and one year from today, you’ll look back at 2022 as one of your best years ever!
