“Only 8% of those that make New Year’s resolutions actually see them through.”
– University of Scranton Research Study
Self-Care Is At The Top Of The List
Yes, it’s that time of the year (and your life) for resolutions. Resolutions range the gambit from emotional goals, to physical goals, to relationship goals and everything in between. Funny enough, though, according to Advanced Symbolics’ Polly poll, the number one resolution for 2020 is actually sticking to the resolution! Here are the top 10 resolutions for 2020, according to Polly:
- Actually doing my New Year’s resolution
- Trying something new
- Eat more of my favorite foods
- Lose weight/diet
- Go to the gym
- Be happier/better mental health
- Be more healthy
- Be a better person
- Upgrade my technology
- Staying motivated
Says Kenton White, PhD, Chief Scientist of Advanced Symbolics Inc., about the resolutions for 2020:
“While there are some usual suspects in our findings, what really jumped out for me was the overall trend toward self-care. We are used to seeing things like physical health improvements in New Year’s resolutions, but it looks like in 2020 Americans mostly want to take care of themselves–emotionally, mentally, and physically. They want to better themselves and their situation.”
But sadly, of the 60% of the people that make New Year’s resolutions, only 8% actually see them through (University of Scranton Research Study). And, according to Strava that analyzed over 31 million on-line global activities last year, January 12th is typically the date that resolutions go south.
Beat The Odds
As evidence suggests, the odds are against most of us making and sticking to resolutions. But this doesn’t have to be the case, especially for self-care goals, which require a higher level of diligence and resolve because of life-long learning or mental conditioning that has led us to feeling the need for change or improvement in the first place.
There’s a common psychology-based axiom that I’m sure each of us can identify with: “What you focus on expands.” Thus, if you focus on the negative motivation of obtaining a goal, the negative will occur rather than the desired positive outcome of attaining the goal. For instance, if one of your goals is to lose weight, you may express that goal as, “Stop eating junk food.” But that’s a negative expression of a desired positive outcome. Thus, a better goal with positive intentions for losing weight would be, “Eat healthy foods.” The same holds true for more emotionally based, self-care goals, such as “Don’t over-commit,’ or ‘Don’t be afraid anymore.’ The positive expressions of these goals would be, “Say no more often”, and “Be fearless to try new things.”
Along with positive expressions of the resolution, another way to beat the odds is to surround yourself with daily, inspirational, positive affirmations of the desired outcome associated with reaching your goals. But with all of the distractions of social media, phones, and negative news along with your busy, always-on schedule, how is this possible? Well, believe it or not, the very device that has become a somewhat negative and destructive force in the world – the smartphone – can now be put to good use to help you stick with your New Year’s resolutions and see them through.
Happego (‘Happy-go’) is a mental health and well-being app that flashes science-backed stimuli on smartphones, or electronic screens, every time you wake up the device. Your unconscious mind receives subtle signals associated with your personal resolutions to help keep you on track and reach your goals. So whether your New Year’s resolutions are rationally based like, ‘Save more money’, or more self-care based like, ‘Be happy’, or ‘Be empathetic’, Happego allows you to customize the stimuli to match your resolutions and goals, which greatly increases the likelihood of sticking with your resolution and beating the odds.
Join User Experience Research And Be Entered To Win $2,500!
Happego is launching a User Experience Research Study that gives participants full, free access to the app, enters them into a $50 weekly drawing, and a $2,500 grand prize. The goal of the research study is to learn how to best leverage regular smartphone and tablet screen use to improve lives.
The research study asks participants to complete a simple, three-minute survey every week for four consecutive weeks to qualify for monetary prizes. The research study is designed for Android users and runs through April 2020.
So get 2020 off to a great start. Make resolutions. Stick with them. And make a little money while doing so.
Get the Happego App (Happego Play Store and Happego App Store)
References: INC, 10 Top New Year’s Resolutions for Success and Happiness in 2020. 12/30/19. Peter Economy.