Why resolutions don't work
Do you keep your new year's resolutions?
Why do you think they don't work?
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Of all people economists say there is substantial evidence that humans naturally procrastinate because of inherent impulsiveness.
Why?
In fact people perceive rewards and costs as having only half the weight tomorrow that they have today. In other words, unpleasant chores feel only half as bad when we imagine doing them tomorrow, versus actually doing them today.
Read that again...
In fact people perceive rewards and costs as having only half the weight tomorrow that they have today. In other words, unpleasant chores feel only half as bad when we imagine doing them tomorrow, versus actually doing them today.
Psychologist David Laibson says... "Pushing costly, unpleasant tasks into the future is like getting a 50 percent discount on them, psychologically. When you actually arrive at that future date, you'll once again face the same problem."
How, then, can you fulfill your sometimes unpleasant New Year's resolutions, such as losing weight or kicking a bad habit?
The economists answer: Put a price on it.
If you risk your money you are more likely to follow-through on your resolutions.
You can write a contract to yourself, add an amount to give to someone or an organisation you dislike. Also have another person keep you on your words.
How about putting a dateline and the money in an enveloppe!
In a study on gym attendance, published in the American Economic Review in 2006, Stefano DellaVigna, associate professor of economics at the University of California-Berkeley and his colleagues looked at people who chose $80 monthly gym memberships over paying $10 a visit. These monthly members actually went to the gym only once a week, meaning they wasted $40 a month because of excessive optimism about how often they'd go.
Moreover, DellaVigna found a spike in gym enrollments around the start of the new year, but the dedication didn't last -- the new subscribers tended to go to the gym more than others for a month or two, and then their attendance dropped off to the lowest.
"The bottom line is that people are overly optimistic," he said. "If you're going to try to go to the gym more often, he recommends asking your gym of choice if it has the pay-per-visit option so you can monitor your own attendance before committing to the monthly contract."
"Finally, you can override your short-term impulses by committing yourself to something a week ahead of time," said Laibson.
"Don't try to talk yourself into being a better person. Simply commit yourself in advance," he said.
You are hard-wired by your brain.
In order to succeed, you need to reprogram your beliefs with emotions for up to 30, 60 or 90 days.
Watch this video about resolutions...
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Just Imagine Your Success And Do It Now,
