What better way to feel good about your prospects for the coming year than to make a set of new year resolutions?
According to USA.gov, the federal government’s official web portal, the most popular new year resolutions are:
Drink Less Alcohol
Get a Better Education
Get a Better Job
Get Fit
Lose Weight
Manage Debt
Manage Stress
Quit Smoking Now
Save Money
Take a Trip
Volunteer to Help Others
Problem is, these kinds of resolutions are forgotten before the New Year’s Day dim sum lunch is over because they’re: (1) Way too broad; (2) Likely to trigger unpleasant associations that lead to avoidance; and (3) Fail to specify concrete manageable actions.
Here’s a version of the same resolutions reworded to produce results:
Only drink scotch that’s at least 12 years old because you’re worth it
Don’t read more than 5 pages before turning out the lights
Don’t volunteer for more than 1 extra assignment per month
Don’t do more than 20 pushups before breakfast
Eat as much as you want for breakfast
Pay for all discretionary purchases with small bills
Switch to green tea lattes
Smoke only where non-smokers are nearby
Drop all your pocket change into a piggy bank every night
Consider the many difficult things that were created without your presence
Take an extra brownbag for the homeless person you pass every day
A few moments of reflection will convince you that these resolutions are more likely to produce something like the desired changes because we human beings are mostly perverse, pain-averse creatures of habit.
