Winter is dark. It’s exhausting. It also has flu, colds and a tendency to stay indoors. So is it really a good time for resolutions on January 1st? WashU’s Tim Bono has a better idea – wait a few months. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Tim Bono offers grounded advice on where people go wrong when they settle down New Year’s resolutions.
Wait a few months, said Bono, assistant dean of student affairs assessment and professor of psychological and brain science in the arts and sciences at the University of Washington in St. Louis. Louis.
He said people often see resolutions in black or white, forgetting that change is incremental; being “happier” is a better resolution than being “happy,” for example. Lack of flexibility often means that after a slip (skipping a race because it’s raining or drinking only seven glasses of water instead of eight), people give up completely.
However, when it comes to the practice of setting new goals for next year, there is one problem that Bono cannot avoid. One that can only be overcome with a cultural change, a radical change in our way of seeing this so honorable tradition: winter can be a real descent.
“Perhaps we need to get rid of the idea that January 1 is the best time to make resolutions,” he said, offering a new tradition: spring renewal.
“January is probably the hardest month of the year to change behavior,” Bono said.
In much of the country, time may be forbidden. “If your goal is, for example, to run five miles a day in Forest Park,” Bono said, “well, there will be cold weather and snow.”
The weather also makes people more likely to stay hooked, leaving aside a support system that helps them keep up with their goals. Another hurdle: Leaving the holiday season leaves many people exhausted as they return to their usual schedules. Bono also said there is a certain drop after the holidays.
“It’s the same thing that people experience the week after the holidays or the week after the wedding or anything else where there’s a lot of anticipation. The anticipation itself is pleasant, ”he said. “There’s a lot of psychological research that has shown that half the fun of the holidays is having something to look forward to.
“Usually there is not much planned during the first months of the year. When there aren’t so many things to look forward to, our spirits tend to be lower. This can translate into less motivation to continue working towards new initiatives, ”he said.
Even someone living in a warm region and with a troubled social calendar will find themselves struggling in an upward battle with New Year’s resolutions. This is because the biggest impediment to a successful resolution may be the short winter days.
“We tend to underestimate the amount of sunlight that affects us,” Bono said. “The first days of January are one of the shortest of the year.”
Many studies have analyzed the relationship between climate, specifically sunlight and mood.
“We know that when sunlight enters the visual system, it activates neural circuits that are associated with various psychological states,” Bono said. “For some people, when they leave home to work it is dark and when they get home at the end of the day it is dark. This limited exposure to direct sunlight at this time of year can greatly affect our overall well-being and our energy levels. ”
Severe weather. Fatigue. Post-holiday fall. Lack of sunlight. Not to mention colds, flu and other insects that occur in the winter.
“All of these things affect motivation,” Bono said. “And then we say,‘ I’m going to move toward all these new goals, ’when there are so many forces working against us?
“Really,” Bono said, “the best time for resolutions is spring or summer.”
Spring has always been the time for new beginnings. Animals in hibernation wake up; thawed soil and heavy rains give rise to sprouting plants. Why not use that time for a personal renewal instead of the death of winter?
“It’s the same reason I don’t sow new seeds in January,” Bono said.
“It’s about aligning behavior with the environment most likely to promote these behaviors and be fertile for them to grow and develop.”
Of course, any time is a good time to work to improve yourself, Bono said. “If you’ve set New Year’s resolutions in January and that has worked for you, go for it,” he said.
For some people, January is the preferred time to make resolutions, as they find that having fewer events or social commitments provides the time and space they need to focus on themselves. If it’s you, there’s no reason to hold on.
But a large number of people claiming these aspirations in January quickly fall off the wagon.
“What if that it turns out to be you in 2021, just remember all that is working against you this time of year, “Bono said.” There’s nothing wrong with postponing a few months and trying again when environmental circumstances will be a bit more conducive to working towards your goals “.