Start Fresh: Why the New Year is Your Best Reset Button

You are 1050% more likely to stick with your goals when they are New Year's resolutions.

You read that right - 1050% more likely. John C. Norcross and colleagues published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology analyzed the effectiveness of New Year’s resolutions compared to non-resolution goals. They found that six months later, 46% of New Year’s Resolutions were still going versus 4% for non-resolution goals.

I used to roll my eyes at New Years Resolution. I was wrong.

Temporal landmarks give us a clean slate to leave behind past failures and focus on the future.

Katy Milkman, Wharton professor and author of How to Change, calls this the Fresh Start Effect. She explains,

“Those failures are the old you, and this is the new you. When we can wipe out those failures and look at a clean slate, it makes us feel more capable and drives us forward.”

We’re far more likely to succeed in our goals when we start at the right moment—a fresh start.

Successful change that truly serves you - especially as a seasoned leader - Benefits from more than just a temporal landmark.

It benefits from a robust reflection on last year.

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Here are four incredible thought leaders and links to the way they do the reflection

Sahil Bloom - Sahil has learned, at an extremely young age, how to shape a life by design. He understands that life is not a series of minutes. It is a series of moments. And after designing his best life he made the difficult decision to move from warm California back to New York to have more moments with his parents. Quite bluntly, I’m amazed at how many decisions he’s willing to commit and execute on based on his meaningful reflection. 

 

Tim Ferriss - Past Year Review is a simple and effective.

 

James Clear - He asked three simple questions and has his examples up to 2019. 

 

Shane Parrish - The king of mental models has a more robust and meaningful annual review process.

Reflection, though, is only meaningful if you’re able to compare that against your Best Life.

And then how you support your aspirations and ambitions with habit (re)engineering, curating the right environment, being intentional with the relationships you prioritize, and anchoring in the right reflection cadence, all play a critical role in success.

All of this relies on you taking pen to paper and writing down your goals. 

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Professor Gail Matthews states it clearly: if you make the commitment, write your goals down, and set up the right accountability, you have a 42% higher likelihood of achieving the goals. (see her study here). 

That’s a step change in performance you can’t afford to ignore.

The New Year is so much more than a date on the calendar—it’s your perfect chance to begin again. What will you do with it?

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