Don’t Join the Crowd on Quitter’s Day
Hello, and welcome.
According to Strava, the internet service for tracking exercise I mentioned in my last post, the day when most people give up their New Year resolution is 19 January, the day they’ve called Quitter’s Day. That’s not even three weeks into the new year! What goes wrong, and what can you do to ensure you don’t join the Quitter crowd? Here are some tips to keep you going:
Be patient with yourself. When Phillippa Lally and her team of researchers at UCL asked 96 adults to create a new healthy habit, try to carry it out daily, and record how long it takes for the habit to become automatic, they were surprised to discover how long was needed. On average it took 66 days for a new habit to become part of a participant’s life, and for some it took much longer. One individual needed 254 days!
Be patient.
Treat yourself as you would your best friend. If you’re having a bad day and don’t feel like carrying out your resolution, if you’re like most people you’ll criticise yourself harshly and you may even give up altogether.
But how would you talk to your best friend if they had that bad day? You’d probably tell them to take the day off, not to beat themselves up, and to start fresh again tomorrow. As a result, they’d probably carry on trying, wouldn’t they?
Be a best friend to yourself.
Capitalise on cues. According to Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, most of our behaviours are triggered by cues--objects, particular people, times or places that suggest a particular way of responding.
If, for example, you are trying to lose that half stone, you’ll find yourself craving a sweet treat that could sabotage you every time you notice the drawer where you keep biscuits. To capitalise on that cue, remove the biscuits and fill the drawer with fresh fruit instead. Now when you notice the drawer and that cue makes you feel hungry, you can happily open it and help yourself.
Praise your efforts. It’s going to be difficult to remain motivated if you refuse to give yourself credit until you’ve achieved your final goal. Instead, praise yourself every day—for trying. Rewarding effort means you’ll want to keep on trying, even on bad days, and that in turn means the ultimate goal is more likely to become yours.
Buddy up. We’re more likely to keep going if someone we care about knows what we’re trying to achieve—or better yet, if they, too, are working towards a similar goal. Check in with them often and enjoy the encouragement you’ll no doubt enjoy.
No quitting, ok?!
Linda