[VIP专享]新年愿望背后的心理学

新年计划New Year resolution背后的心理学爱思英语编者按：2007年英国布里斯托尔大学的理查德·怀斯曼（Richard Wiseman）研究了3，000人，发现：制定新年计划的人群中，88%的人都失败了，虽然52%的人在一开始时感觉自己胜券在握。

《今日心理学》援引了加拿大卡尔登大学的心理学教授蒂莫西·皮曲尔的看法认为：新年计划是一种“文化拖延症”，是人们彻底改造自我的一种尝试。

New Year resolution s: Be bold or forever forget themAs last year came to an end, Ms Faith Vata Musilu resolved to quit employment and start a clothing business by the end of 2013.In February, she handed her employer a resignation letter and in July, boom — she started her own business, Faithlovely Fashions, and she is the chief executive.Ms Musilu is among the lucky few who managed to see their New Year resolution s beyond the Easter holidays.When Yvonne Kadesh, for instance, decided to turn into a vegan in 2013, she assumed it would be a walk in the park. But soon she found herself salivating as her friends were enjoying ice cream and goat ribs. She gave up.“It was too much,” she says. “I abandoned the resolution on January 18.”But why do people make resolution s year in year out and forget them in the second week of January?CONFIDENT OF SUCCESSA 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol, UK, involving 3,000 people showed that 88 per cent of those who set New Year resolution s fail, despite the fact that 52 per cent of the study’s participants were confident of success at the beginning.Men achieved their goal 22 per cent more often when they engaged in goal setting, while women succeeded 10 per cent more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.And according to researcher John Norcross and his colleagues, who published their findings in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, approximately 50 per cent of the population makes resolution s each New Year.A New Year’s resolution is a promise people make to start doing something good or stop doing something bad from the first day of the year.ORIGIN UNCLEARThe origin is not clear but according to Wikipedia, the ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.The Romans are also said to have begun each year by making promises to god Janus, after whom the month of January is named.And in the medieval era, the knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.Modern-day resolution s include things like improving one’s physical well-being by eating healthy food, losing weight, exercising more, drinking less alcohol, quitting smoking, not biting nails and getting rid of old bad habits.Others touch on spirituality, finances, career, education, taking a trip, volunteer ing, getting along with people better, making new friends, spending quality time with loved ones and settling down, among others.As for US President Barack Obama, his New Year resolution is to be nicer to press corps assigned to cover White House.Photographers have particularly been complaining that they are not allowed to take pictures of the president with White House only releasing images that are “staged-managed” to create a certain impression of the First Family.For Ms Musilu, her goal in 2014 is to grow her fashion business to a point where it can dress people of all walks of life from the president downwards. Already dating, she also wants to settle down in the coming year.On her part, Ms Kadesh would want to better manage her finances in 2014 and start her fashion line.UNATTAINABLE GOALSPsychologist Chris Hart says most people set unattainable goals, which do not qualify as resolution s in the first place. “…like resolving to get married this year. Or win the lottery. Those aren’t resolution s. They’re wishes,” says Dr Hart.“So only set goals that are totally within your control — practical, realistic and positive,” he says.Ms Musilu says she had even resolved to meet President Kibaki and congratulate him on his good work on Kenya’s economy.She achieved this two weeks ago, albeit nine months after Mr Kibaki left presidency.But how did she do it? “(I was) just focused and de term ined that what others did I can do better,” she says. “The secret of achieving is to focus on one thing and stop being a master of everything. And also all is well when one discovers the reason for one’s existence.”In the book A course in happiness, Italian author Frank Ra, argues that resolution s are more sustainable when shared, both in term s of with whom you share the benefits of the resolution, and with whom you share the path of maintaining your resolution.“Peer-support makes a difference in success rate with New Year’sresolution s,” he says.Ms Christina Lenjou, a Nairobi-based counselling psychologist agrees, saying that most people are too ambitious by setting too many resolution s.BE SPECIFIC“I advise people to choose one and focus on it and be specific,” she says. “This means that if you want to quit smoking in 2014, then you must say by which month. If it’s losing weight, also have the amount and duration.”Psychology Today, quotes Timothy Pychyl, a professor of psychology at Carleton University in Canada, arguing that resolution s are a form of “cultural procrastination,” an effort to reinvent oneself.People make resolution s as a way of motivating themselves, he says. He, however, contends that people are not ready to change their habits, particularly bad habits, and that accounts for the high failure rate.On his part, psychology professor Peter Herman and his colleagues have identified what they call the “false hope syndrome,” which means their resolution is significant ly unrealistic and out of alignment with their internal view of themselves.This principle reflects that of making positive affirmations. When you make positive affirmations about yourself that you do not really believe, they not only do not work, but can damage self-esteem.Dr Hart advises people to dream big, but make detailed plans.“Write down your resolution s, and against each one make a note of the specific tasks you need to carry out to make them happen. With precise timings,” he says.CHOOSE GOALS CAREFULLYHe, however, wants people to choose their goals carefully and make the hard choices in life.“They just want it all,” he says. “Like saying they want to be wealthy — but also lusting after cars and new mobiles. You can’t do both at once! If you want to be rich, that means saving — and not having lots of nice things while you’re getting there.”Ms Lenjou also says people must be ready to make some sacrifices if they want to succeed in achieving their resolution s. Most people, she says, want something to change yet they want to remain in a comfort zone.“If your friend calls you to a pub where people smoke and your goal is to quit smoking then you must be ready to sacrifice that fun,” she says.Experts say people refuse to attempt some resolution s owing to the perceived complex ity and the agony of ceasing a habit. But it is not as complex.STICK IT OUTDr Hart says it takes about three weeks to change a habit — and it is usually very difficult. Often people fail simply because we aren’t willing to stick it out.“You’ll experience anxiety, disorientation, lapses in motivation and self-doubt. But they are all signs you’re making progress. And if you hang on, you just might make that New Year’s resolution come true,” he says.Ms Lenjou echoes this, advising people to look at the bigger benefits that will accrue from achieving a resolution.“Think ahead and say ‘if I quit smoking, then I’ll have a less congested chest, less coughs and fresher breath’. These can motivate you to pursue your decision,” she says.On the flip side, though, the psychologist warns against just thinking about the fruits and failing to lay down the basics — the activities involved.“You need to appreciate that this is a long journey and stop looking at just the result s. You need to know that you must start, say, with reducing the number of cigarette sticks every week,” she says.THE END RESULTDr Hart also advises people to focus on changing their behaviour, rather than the end result. So if you are dieting, do not weigh yourself every day. Concentrate, instead, on what you eat and how much exercise you are getting.And structure things so that changes are easier. This may entail laying out your night clothes where they are easy to see and remind you to get to bed early.To come up with feasible goals, Dr Hart says one needs to start with a review of what happened in their life during the past year.He proposes a checklist: “Did you achieve what you set out to do? Are you healthier, happier or more success ful than you were a year ago?Do you like yourself more? Say ‘yes’, and you’re on track! But if you seem stuck, ask yourself what you need to do differently. After all, why would doing the same thing again get you any further?”The other aspect of failed resolution s lies in the cause and effect relationship, according to Ms Lenjou.You may think that if you lose weight, or reduce your debts, or exercise more, your entire life will change, and when it does not, you may get discouraged and then you revert to old behaviours.REWIRE YOUR BRAINMaking resolution s work is essentially changing behaviours and in order to do that, you have to change your thinking and “rewire” your brain, according to Psychology Today.American brain scientists such as Antonio Damasio and Joseph LeDoux and psychotherapist Stephen Hayes have discovered, through the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, that habitual behaviour is created by thinking patterns that create neural pathways and memories, which become the default basis for your behaviour when you’re faced with a choice or decision.Trying to change that default thinking by “not trying to do it,” in effect just strengthens it. Change requires creating new neural pathways from new thinking.So have you made your resolution s for 2014?二月，她向雇主递交了辞职信；七月，轰隆一声，她开创了自己的事业：费斯可爱时装公司，任行政总裁。