New Year's resolutions commonly involve resolving to end bad habits - for example giving up bad diet habits. However the latest psychological research suggests that, paradoxically, trying hard to not do something, might render it more likely you will perform negative habits.
This effect is referred to as ironic mental control. The 'ironic' part refers to the fact that trying not to do things, in particular trying not to think of something, or endeavouring not to have desires, seems to, paradoxically, bring them on more strongly.
So here's one of the reasons why it happens...
If I ask you to 'imagine a chocolate cake', chances are you can conjure it up really easily - the way it looks, its sweet smell, the sensation of your fork pushing through it the stickiness of the topping to the rich cake beneath... the decadent taste and experience of it melting into your mouth.
Just writing this I'm getting hungry...
Now, if I say, 'don't imagine a pink penguin', even with the most exquisite mental control, you'll probably find an image of a pink penguin popping into your head.
Why? Because, simplistically speaking, your subconscious doesn't differentiate between 'do' and 'don't', it fixates on the object (in this case the pink penguin) making it very hard to resist the item in question.
And this doesn't just extend to food. Whatever you're trying to resist, it turns out that the process of avoiding or suppress any kind of unwanted thoughts actually tends to backfire as a strategy, often resulting in the resurgence of those same thoughts you were trying to get rid of in the first place.
Why new year's resolutions over weight are going to fail
Given weight control is such a large part of many people's resolutions, a study entitled 'The ironic effects of weight stigma' by Brenda Major, Jeffrey Hunger, Debra Bunyan and Carol Miller from the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Vermont, USA, might explain the frequent failure of new year's resolutions over weight.
Women were randomly assigned to read a news article about stigma faced by overweight individuals in the job market or to read a control article.
The secret of making successful new year's resolutions
If you have a particular habit you'd like to change, Daniel Wegner (author of the above paper on ex lovers and a pioneer in this field) suggests that to succeed, you should make your new year's resolutions affirmative and positive.
So instead of resolving to stop drinking as much, or to lose that extra pound, instead you should resolve to become more fit.
Don't resolve to give up bad eating habits - resolve instead to become more fit.
Taking up running is likely to help you give up bad eating habits as pursuing one goal becomes incompatible with the other. Pick goals that are irreconcilable with bad habits. Positive resolutions (do's) might be easier to control than negative ones (don'ts). Don'ts require constant effort and battling with distractions.
Whereas you experience I can’t as a restriction, something that's being imposed upon you, when you use the words I don’t, you experience it as a choice, so this statement feels empowering - an affirmation of your willpower and determination.
Ready to start?
This year I'm becoming more fit and if you are going to ask me to have lunch together at the nearest fast food... 'Thanks but I don't have meals at fast food restaurants on weekdays'!
Sources: http://www.psychologytoday.com/ , http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/