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> The study describes how people take on difficult things after "temporal landmarks" like the start of a new year, a new month, or even a new week. Despite the replication crisis in social science and behavioural economics, this was an effect that we immediately verified in our own user data at Lifesum. Can't you send your data to further prove that this effect exists? PR for you, win for science.
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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.
I started my fitness journey around the time I turned 30 years old. I don't know why, I just somehow decided to do Couch to 5K, and from there it turned into something that I really enjoy and spend a lot of time doing.
That said, I'm a _little_ skeptical about the premise here, which, if I'm reading it correctly, is that "people start things and don't finish them." I guess that's true -- certainly of myself -- but OP is talking from the perspective of Lifesum, a dieting app.
My mind goes to this question: if people use Lifesum on Mondays and then drop off, is that the fault of the customers or the fault of the app?
To put it a different way, I exercise every day. I watch what I eat. I'm in very good shape. But sometimes I think "I should track my calories," so I download LoseIt or MyFitnessPal or something else. And I track my calories for... a week, maybe two, maybe three.
In real life? Still eating healthy, still exercising daily, still enjoying my fitness journey.
On the app? Gone. I've dropped off.
Why did I drop off? There are probably a few things.
One is that I am possibly not the target demographic. (Although, am I? As a fitness person that is tracking macros religiously, shouldn't these apps be critical for my success?)
Another is that I just lack the discipline to track my food and diet. But that can't be true, either, can it? I've exercised in some form or fashion every day for the last 1843 days. I read every day. I call my parents twice a week every week. I have discipline to follow schedules and plans that I stick to.
A third is that I just don't care enough. This feels most likely to me. I'm doing well in my fitness journey. The app doesn't provide enough value to me. I don't _need_ it and it feels like extra cruft getting in the way of my enjoyment of life.
I'm not saying OP is wrong, but I'm offering an alternative view: maybe it's not that people can't stick with resolutions and that temporal milestones are, well, temporary. Maybe it's that we're making the wrong resolutions in the first place. Or perhaps that the tools that exist to tackle the "wrong" resolutions aren't sufficient.
Anyway, just my two cents.
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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?
> 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…
For an individual, the attempt to improve yourself is usually admirable.
But I am cynical about New Year's resolutions, and I think my priors are something like "the decision to make a change on New Years is more likely to fail than the same decision made at any other arbitrary point in time because 'everyone knows' that New Year's resolutions fail".
If someone had a problem that involved making life changes to fix or make progress on it, amongst the worst possible prescriptions for fixing this problem would be "make a resolution".
> 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…
It’s just like quitting smoking. I don’t really care to scorn the 9/10ths (or whatever the number is) who fail. I care to celebrate the 1/10th that succeeds. It’s more a confession to the mindset of these people who fixate on the pessimistic side of a pitched battle.
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It’s just like quitting smoking. I don’t really care to scorn the 9/10ths (or whatever the number is) who fail. I care to celebrate the 1/10th that succeeds. It’s more a confession to the mindset of these people who fixate on the pessimistic side of a pitched battle.
Couldn't agree more. It took me a few tries quitting cold turkey but I haven't smoked for 8 years now and have no desire to start again.
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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
> 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…
Interesting, even more interesting is the linked article about the age distribution of marathon finishers: https://runrepeat.com/12-percent-more-likely-to-run-a-marath... I can confirm this "milestone age", by looking at some relatives who started running and participating in marathons at an older age.