Keeping Resolutions - February 2009

Did you know...Some resolutions are more effective than others?

According to recent research, certain ways of setting intentions (otherwise known in January as making New Year resolutions) to change behavior work better than others. To explore this, a study in Germany enrolled approximately 250 middle aged women who wanted to increase their physical activity. Half received education and counseling about physical activity and the other half received the same education and counseling but were also taught a method called “self-regulation”. The self-regulation group was able to maintain twice the level of physically activity 4 months afterwards!

So what is self-regulation? Here’s how it works regarding physical activity: write down the following four items: (1) your most important current wish regarding physical activity (for example, biking to work); (2) the most positive outcome of realizing the wish (such as, getting into better shape) and events and experiences associated with this positive outcome; (3) the most critical obstacle (such as getting up too late to bike to work) together with events and experiences associated with this obstacle; and (4) plans for dealing with the obstacles. To plan for the obstacles answer the following three questions: (1) When and where does the obstacle occur and what can I do to overcome or circumvent the obstacle? (2) When and where is an opportunity to prevent the obstacle from occurring and what can I do to prevent it? (3) When and where is a good opportunity for me to act on my wish and what would this action be?

For example, you could counter the obstacle of getting up too late to exercise with: If I get up too late, I’ll skip the morning news, so I can still exercise. Participants used a diary to record their self regulation techniques and were encouraged to use the technique mentally throughout the day.

What Does CPC recommend?

First, you have to be mentally ready to make changes. Self regulation techniques turn favorable conditions (readiness to change and a positive attitude) into immediate and lasting behavior change. Then, for the self-regulation technique to work, two conditions must be met: You need to expect that you can make the change you want, and you need to be able to name and imagine a positive outcome from making the behavior change. The authors of this study note that once people learned how to apply the tool described above, they were able to implement it on their own. While self-regulation steps might seem awkward at first, CPC believes that being purposeful and continuing to practice the steps will allow you to achieve the results you want. What do you want to change or achieve this year?

This study was published in: American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2009;36(1)