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The fresh start effect

lars.yencken.org

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Re: The fresh start effect

#21

Post by nativeit »

BlueTemplar wrote: post #11
janwillemb wrote: post #5

> Some people are cynical about New Year's resolutions, prefer not to make them, or look down on others who do. > I have a different perspective. Overall, I admire people who try to make change in their lives for the better. This is good general advice. Why not just be supportive and nice to people instead of dismissing whatever effort they put in things that they want to do or are passionate about. This makes it eas…

Depends on the context. Consider for instance a recidivist drug addict - wouldn't you be skeptical that they are going to stay clean this time ?

If you love the person, you applaud the continued effort. If you don’t, you stay out of it.

Re: The fresh start effect

#23

Post by slingnow »

bratbag wrote: post #10
ionyun wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thinking that goes into things like new years resolutions is also part of a greater ideology though. That in itself dismisses fundamental changes for unrealistic scenarios. That you don't need good housing, working conditions or health care because with this one business, diet or lifestyle trick you will beat the odds. In many countries the majority now are overweight or obese in their sixties. Despite more knowl…

And yet, success is higher when others support and reinforce. So don't use statistics as an excuse to be a dick.

And obviously, success is higher when selecting a strategy more likely to succeed.

For my money I'm going to expose the person to a better strategy rather than supporting and reinforcing a clearly bad one.

Re: The fresh start effect

#24

Post by nativeit »

BlueTemplar wrote: post #11
janwillemb wrote: post #5

> Some people are cynical about New Year's resolutions, prefer not to make them, or look down on others who do. > I have a different perspective. Overall, I admire people who try to make change in their lives for the better. This is good general advice. Why not just be supportive and nice to people instead of dismissing whatever effort they put in things that they want to do or are passionate about. This makes it eas…

Depends on the context. Consider for instance a recidivist drug addict - wouldn't you be skeptical that they are going to stay clean this time ?

That you use an explicitly legal turn of phrase to describe a physical disorder says a lot about your attitude towards those who have struggled with addiction, and your apparent disdain for anyone who might not succeed.

Re: The fresh start effect

#25

Post by katzgrau »

BlueTemplar wrote: post #11
janwillemb wrote: post #5

> Some people are cynical about New Year's resolutions, prefer not to make them, or look down on others who do. > I have a different perspective. Overall, I admire people who try to make change in their lives for the better. This is good general advice. Why not just be supportive and nice to people instead of dismissing whatever effort they put in things that they want to do or are passionate about. This makes it eas…

Depends on the context. Consider for instance a recidivist drug addict - wouldn't you be skeptical that they are going to stay clean this time ?

All that matters is that they keep trying. I tried to establish a workout routine for years and it didn’t ever stick … until it did. I’ve worked out 3-5x per week since 2016 and have benefitted immensely, and have successfully helped others do the same.

Re: The fresh start effect

#26

Post by t43562 »

JohnMakin wrote: post #16

when you make a "fresh start" or grand resolution to do something, you get a rush of reward chemicals as if you actually did the thing. That's why so many people make resolutions and then barely ever keep them. Incremental, daily changes are much more difficult and less rewarding to those centers of our brain.

I feel that's the way it works - not "I'll start being good tomorrow" but the way in which you change those small decisions that you make 20 times a day about whether to eat something or do some exercise or whatever.

When you flex your decision making so that it regularly turns up right answers you have "got on the wagon". I have done this with diets and I'm currently "off the wagon" and this business of getting on usually starts with one big long bit of exercise - like an especially long walk and somehow I get the discipline out of that to kick me onto the right track.

Once on the track I'm ok till I am sick or until the darkest bit of winter or until very stressful things happen at work.

So I realise life will always be up and down for me - which is just better than always down.

Re: The fresh start effect

#27

Post by janwillemb »

katzgrau wrote: post #25
BlueTemplar wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on the context. Consider for instance a recidivist drug addict - wouldn't you be skeptical that they are going to stay clean this time ?

All that matters is that they keep trying. I tried to establish a workout routine for years and it didn’t ever stick … until it did. I’ve worked out 3-5x per week since 2016 and have benefitted immensely, and have successfully helped others do the same.

Same here, without the "successfully helped others". Care to elaborate a bit on that?

Re: The fresh start effect

#28

Post by 0fox »

katzgrau wrote: post #25
BlueTemplar wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on the context. Consider for instance a recidivist drug addict - wouldn't you be skeptical that they are going to stay clean this time ?

All that matters is that they keep trying. I tried to establish a workout routine for years and it didn’t ever stick … until it did. I’ve worked out 3-5x per week since 2016 and have benefitted immensely, and have successfully helped others do the same.

What did you differently to make it stick?

Re: The fresh start effect

#29

Post by pj_mukh »

ionyun wrote: post #7
janwillemb wrote: post #5

> Some people are cynical about New Year's resolutions, prefer not to make them, or look down on others who do. > I have a different perspective. Overall, I admire people who try to make change in their lives for the better. This is good general advice. Why not just be supportive and nice to people instead of dismissing whatever effort they put in things that they want to do or are passionate about. This makes it eas…

The thinking that goes into things like new years resolutions is also part of a greater ideology though. That in itself dismisses fundamental changes for unrealistic scenarios. That you don't need good housing, working conditions or health care because with this one business, diet or lifestyle trick you will beat the odds. In many countries the majority now are overweight or obese in their sixties. Despite more knowl…

"because with this one business, diet, or lifestyle trick you will beat the odds."

stares awkwardly at the Bottle of Ozempic in the corner

Re: The fresh start effect

#30

Post by lars512 »

justinl33 wrote: post #4
jemmyw wrote: post #2

> Were we just cynically capitalising on people's New Year's resolutions, all of which are bound to fail? Or was there something more to it? It can be both

Mega PR hack: bring up and dismiss the question before the reader can make any assumptions

Author here. It's in some ways well and good to be sceptical of the health and wellness industry, including gyms and software companies like Lifesum. Note that they're my ex employer. I have good feelings for the place and own some shares, but I have no special need to do PR for them.

I want to agree with something you didn't quite spell out: the incentives are not really properly aligned in this kind of industry. You get paid up front, when people are at maximum motivation, but progress takes a long time and many people drop off along the way. Some kind of business model where you get a half-refund for non-usage would be a reasonable compromise for everyone, but I've never seen it in action.

Speaking for the people I know who are involved in this work, they are not cynical. They do this kind of work, instead of other work, since they genuinely want to help people. Our product worked if you stuck at it, so we spent a lot of time encourage people to come back each day and work at their goal. You can take my word about this, or not, as you like.

Something even a cynic would celebrate: there seems to be a push in some parts of the US health system to pay for outcomes (e.g. confirmed weight loss; stopping smoking) rather than processes (e.g. access to an app for losing weight; access to a quit smoking program). That's a really welcome development, it aligns everyone's incentives nicely.

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