Everyone has heard of New Year's resolutions. Many people have set goals for themselves to reach within the upcoming year. These goals can range from getting straight A's or working out more to spending more time with family and friends. Unfortunately, as hard as people strive at the beginning of the year to achieve their resolutions, most of the time these goals fall flat and are forgotten by the middle or end of the year. People can easily feel guilty when they get slightly behind on their resolutions, and that causes them to slowly lose interest in obtaining their objectives. One could say all of that happens because of human laziness or lack of determination. However, what if the problem isn't idleness, but rather the wording of the resolutions themselves?
When new year's resolutions are created, they typically follow along the lines of positive additions to one's life, like "I will write in my journal every day" or "I will pay more attention to my fish, so they don't die." These goals talk about life changes add more to the previous year's workload. By saying "I will work out more," people are stating that they will do everything they did the year before plus more exercise. That way of thinking can be disheartening and could eventually cause someone to give up on their goals.
So, what if the phrasing of the resolution is switched around?
For example, instead of "I will eat more vegetables" one would say "I will stop eating so much candy." Both statements share the basic idea of healthier eating, but the former adds duties while the latter takes some away. With the resolution to "eat less candy," a person doesn't have to worry about fitting a couple veggies into every meal. There is less anxiety involved, because there isn't one more thing to do in the upcoming year. Thought of one less activity to do (even if that activity is munching on a few pieces of chocolate every so often) brings a sense of relief.
Other resolutions can be rephrased to have a less stressful feel to them. "I will become more extroverted" becomes "I will stop spending so much time alone." "I will drink more water and healthier drinks" becomes "I will stop drinking soda and coffee." Again, the general intents of the statements are the same; only the wording is changed to give the unconscious illusion that there will be less work involved.
Oddly enough, such a simple change in wording can bring a comforting feeling that means the difference between another abandoned new year's resolution and an achieved goal.
