Did you make it onto Santa’s “Nice” list? Did the eggnog flow? Are you still getting through those Christmas leftovers? Whatever the answers, I hope you had a chance to take a break and enjoy the company of (some of) the people in your lives.
After Christmas comes New Year, traditionally a time of reflection marked by self-loathing at the excesses of the yuletide and Hogmanay, after another year of getting maybe a little less svelte, probably no richer and definitely older.
Polling companies report that half to two-thirds of us resolve to do something new or different as the New Year blooms. But fewer than one in four do so every year.
The earliest attribution I can find for what we now call New Year’s resolutions is ancient Babylonian festivals marking the “new year”. I use quote marks here because 4000 years ago, Babylonians celebrated the New Year in spring – around March for us. These 11 days of rituals included making promises to the gods.
Ever wondered why September, October, November and December are named after the Roman numbers representing seven to 10, but they’re the ninth to twelfth months of the year? It’s because the ancient Romans had only 10 “months”, March to December, but none over winter. Like the Babylonians, the Romans originally marked the New Year around March 25 but, to better reflect the lunar cycle, this shifted to our January 1. Agricultural “New Year” rituals still marked the start of spring, while the Romans celebrated the New Year by making sacrifices to the god Janus as part of their resolutions.
A lot of our drunken New Year celebrations have something in common with early “wassailing” British traditions. These are rituals revolving around promoting good health. One variation, to encourage a good apple season, involved heading over to the orchard and drinking, praying and singing, with the sloshing of cider over the tree roots and, finally, making an almighty din to scare away apple-hating spirits.
Although traditional resolutions tended to focus on moral and religious aspirations, they’ve been replaced by secular commitments to self-improvement. And though lots of people make resolutions, only about one in eight are successful, and most fail in the first couple of months of the year.
I won’t discourage you from making resolutions, so here’s a little bit of evidence-based guidance on how to maximise your chance of success.
You’ve probably heard of Smart (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals? This framework would suggest that a good foundation for success is setting concrete goals – “I’m going to put one less teaspoon of sugar in my tea” – rather than abstract ones – “I’m going to be healthier”. But research suggests that breaking your big abstract (superordinate) goals into lots of smaller (subordinate) pieces can also be counterproductive – how many dieters put on weight at the end of the diet period?
Cutting down on sugar might be more easily achievable in the short term than “being healthy”, but it’s important to hold both of these goals – it’s the superordinate goal that motivates us. It’s necessary for our sense of self, and thus increases our sense of “anticipatory regret” – we imagine the regret we’ll experience if we don’t achieve our goal.
So try this: if you want to get fitter, make two sets of goals. What will help you get fitter? Maybe going for a run twice a week? Identify your long-term superordinate goal, then tie the two together: “I’m going to run twice a week, because I want to be a fit person.”
Another thing we’ve known for a long time is to share your goal with someone else. Here goes: I’m going to go to the gym twice a week, because I want to be able to carry my shopping inside without dropping anything.
Happy New Year, and good luck.
