This simple hack may be just the trick you need to stick with a few healthy, life-enhancing New Year’s resolutions.
Even if you don’t believe in resolutions, you probably want to kick off 2016 feeling your best. But, by the third week of January, your willpower may fade, no matter what you looked into the mirror and promised yourself on January 1st.
The solution, according to new research from leading consumer behavior expert Dave Sprott, senior associate dean of the Carson College of Business, Washington State University, and his team, may be to simply shift how you phrase your intentions.
Sprott’s group reviewed 100 studies on the “question-behavior effect”—a phenonmenon in which asking people about their intent to perform a certain behavior influences how likely they are to carry out the behavior. They found that people are far more likely to do something if they are questioned about it and allowed to offer a “yes” or “no” response, than if they simply say they are going to perform the behavior.
“If you question a person about performing a future behavior, the likelihood of that behavior happening will change,” said Sprott. It’s a simple way to bring about significant changes in our actions.
“We found the effect is strongest when questions are used to encourage behavior with personal and socially accepted norms, such as eating healthy foods or volunteering,” said Eric R. Spangenberg, the lead author of the study.
To make the most of their research, here are five questions about behaviors that are proven to enhance health and wellbeing. We’re not sure what you planned for 2016, but try adding these to your list.
In 2016, will you:
l.exercise more?
Yes or No
2. finally drop those extra pounds?
Yes or No
3. do your best to sleep seven hours a night?
Yes or No
4. cut back on sugar and salt?
Yes or No
5. increase your health and improve the world by increasing kindness toward others?
Yes or No
About Fierce Fridays — Tips for Weekend Well-Being
We each cherish those precious days off at the end of the week, but increasingly those of us who are charter members of the sisterhood of the stressed and overworked are losing our Saturday and Sunday leisure time to weekend work and domestic duties.
To make sure that you do something every weekend that’s just for you, we’ll be sharing a little advice to make those 48 hours a great time to recharge your batteries, bring a little good news and fun into your life, or discover a quick and easy way to improve your health.