Fuck New Year's Resolutions
Why New Year's Resolutions suck
America's political ideology of liberalism and the economic system of capitalism underpin it. This means America is individualistic, consumer-obsessed, and market-driven. A market that drives the perspective of individual change through consumer products.
New Year’s resolutions are a market. How many gyms, diet plans, and other products/services have discounts for the New Year?
The New Year’s resolution market stresses individual change after New Year’s and this change usually centers around health. There is a vested interest to keep people buying into this idea of change with it most likely not succeeding. How many people realistically stick to New Year’s resolutions?
Less than 1% of people stick to their New Year’s resolutions for more than a few months. Due to this failure, ‘experts’ regularly offer advice on how to keep resolutions and make long-lasting changes. However, long-lasting change depends on one thing.
Your environment.
I have a background in applied behavior analysis (ABA), the science behind behavior change and modification. ABA is utilized for various reasons in various populations. The science of behavior is an important catalyst for understanding how behavior change works and what makes it sustainable.
Rather than posit myself as some ‘expert’ in ABA to give you tips on New Year’s resolutions I want to give you some perspective. If you do not live in an environment that’s conducive to changing a specific behavior that behavior might not change.
This means you can identify 50 habits you want to build, but if you’re overworked, a single parent, and financially stressed, it is highly unlikely you will build those habits. Now if you’re wealthy with a bunch of free time without children, building habits will most likely be easier.
New Year’s resolutions are highly profitable for certain industries, but they will most likely fail. This failure is because behavior is largely determined by environment, not discipline or willpower.
Buying products or services will not lead to New Year’s resolution success. If we want people to be their best selves we need to focus on changing our environment, the political and economic landscape.
I think similarity - the accomplishments of professional atheletes or those born-into prosparity should be measured by the environments that foster their talents. Whether resource-based or social connections. Someone who trains all the time in the best environment, food, rest, etc is still working hard but they're in the most ideal situation - you gotta be aware of that.