KEY POINTS:
Overweight? Unfit? Smoke too much? Well, if you thought a New Year resolution would do the trick you are probably wasting your time.
According to a psychologist, most resolutions last only about five days.
Carolyn Mills, a psychologist for 30 years who has worked mainly in the United States with large companies but is now based in the Bay of Islands, said the top failed resolutions were quitting smoking, changing drinking habits, losing weight and exercising more.
Dr Mills said that rather than try to change old habits, people were more likely to succeed in adding new ones. "The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour," she said. "If you were going to change your behaviour, you would already have done so."
She said people truly wanting to make changes needed to devise a plan with incremental, goal-defined steps, and rewards and evaluations.
"It takes more than a resolution to change behaviour."
A survey by research company ACNielsen of 500 people found that 37 per cent were making New Year's resolutions.
Among those making resolutions, 71 per cent planned to exercise more, 49 per cent wanted to achieve a better work/life balance, 29 per cent to spend more time with family, and 23 per cent to go on a diet.
A number wanted to cut down or give up smoking (18 per cent) and others to cut down or stop drinking alcohol (8 per cent).
- NZPA
