Self-improvement is at the
heart of the majority of
New Year’s resolutions.
Individuals resolving to read
more or live a more active lifestyle
or travel are all attempting
better themselves.
Resolutions can be hard to
keep, as the hectic pace of daily
life can make it hard to fi nd
time for new activities. Individuals
who want to see their
resolutions through to the end
can try utilizing various selfimprovement
strategies to help
them achieve their goals.
Share your goals with
others whom you respect
Resolutions may involve
intensely personal goals, but
sharing those goals with people
you respect can have a profound
effect on your ability to
achieve them.
A recent study from researchers
at The Ohio State
University examined the effects
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of sharing target goals
with others. In the study, which
was published in the Journal
of Applied Psychology, 171 undergraduates
were asked to
move a slider on a computer to
the number 50 as many times
as they could within a given
time frame. After doing this,
they were asked to do it again
but this time they were asked
to set a specifi c goal regarding
how many times they could
do it within the allotted time.
Someone identifi ed as a “lab assistant”
then went to check on
their goals, but the assistants
were presented differently to
different groups, and one group
was not checked on at all. One
assistant was well-dressed and
introduced as a doctoral student,
while the other was casually
dressed and identifi ed as a
community college student.
Researchers concluded that
individuals who share their
goals with people they respect
are more likely to commit to
those goals than people who
keep their goals to themselves.
Start small, but don’t
stay small
Setting small goals may
not make individuals feel like
they’re en route to the dramatic
changes they feel they need.
However, research indicates
that incremental goals can
provide the early motivation
people need to achieve larger
goals. However, researchers
at Peking University in China
discovered that, while incremental
goals helped people
make more early progress,
that progress waned if they
did not eventually transition
to their larger goals. Individuals
can use their early successes
to instill the confi dence
that makes them believe they
can achieve their larger goals.
Change your perception
Those who want to see their resolutions through can try various selfimprovement
strategies to achieve their goals. Metro Creative Connection
of setbacks
Many a New Year’s resolution
has fallen by the wayside
due to setbacks. For example,
someone who aspires to lose 20
lbs. may be trying to lose one
pound per week for 20 weeks
running. If an individual fails
to lose that pound in a given
week or even gains weight,
that setback may compel that
person to abandon the larger
goal. But instead of seeing and
even accepting that setback
as a sign of failure, individuals
should see it was a learning
experience that can ultimately
help them achieve their
larger goal. In the weight loss
scenario, individuals who fail
to lose a pound in a given week
can examine their habits over
the previous seven days. Identifying
why an incremental
goal was not achieved can reassure
individuals that they will
know how to avoid those same
pitfalls in the future.
Self-improvement strategies
can help individuals making
New Year’s resolutions see
those resolutions through to
their successful conclusion.
— Metro Creative Connection
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Strategies to help make
resolutions a reality
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