Tag: resolution success rates

It’s ‘Stoptober’ – but 28 days isn’t long enough to change a habit

Habits aren't easy to breakA month feels a very long time when you’re trying to give something up. Crikey, if you’re trying to give up cigarettes then even a weekend seems an eternity. And now that October is upon us, scores of smokers are going cold turkey on the fags for a 28 day stint. It’s all part of the NHS’s annual ‘Stoptober’ stop-smoking campaign; the logic being that if you can kick the cigs for a month then you can kick them for good. A nice idea, but does it really help?

Everyone’s heard that it takes 28 days to make or change a habit. Granted, some of us have been told that it’s 21 days; but the general ‘if you can stick it out for three-four weeks’ rule has long been accepted wisdom of counsellors, agony aunts and your mates down the pub. But just know this: the idea that it takes a month to change your ways is a load of tosh. For actual science says that changing any routine – be it smoking or otherwise usually takes much longer than 28 days. Read more

Fact or Fiction: Do New Year’s Resolutions actually Work?

New Year’s Resolutions: Just what is the point?  I used to hate the idea of resolving to do something good just because it was a new year. And yet there seems to be something magical about the stroke of midnight on December 31st: Many of us pledge to get fitsave money or stop smoking. Having witnessed family and friends make dozens of failed attempts, it’s tempting to think that Oscar Wilde had it right…

Resolutions are “pure vanity. Their result is absolutely nil”. Oscar Wilde (1909), The Picture of Dorian Gray

What are your New Year's resolutions?
These days I’m less of a resolution-hater. In fact I’ve actually quite warmed to the idea, and I’ve even made myself a few New Year’s resolutions for this year: To start writing a book, to change my gym routine and to make sure I have more fun! But will I just be like everyone else; starting with good intentions, but disappointed and disillusioned a couple of months down the line?

Psychologists have tried to answer these questions and a team of researchers from America did some intensive work to find out the secret of sticking to New Year’s resolutions. Read on to find out if you’ve got what it takes to carry through on your resolution…

Read more