New Year’s Resolutions
Randy Wolken, President & CEO

Every year, millions of Americans make resolutions for the new year. Only 8 percent are kept. 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by February – just one month into the new year. Many people have stopped making such resolutions because of the dismal results they have personally achieved, making that mere 8 percent success rate even more remarkable. So, why do people even make such resolutions? People want to change their lives for the better.

If change is the desired outcome, then we know what works. People who create habits instead of resolutions are successful at change. How do we know this? Neurobiologists, cognitive psychologists, and other researchers have studied our behavior and determined that up to 95 percent of what we do daily is a habit. We do it without thinking. Therefore, if you want change to happen – you must make it a habit.

The key to establishing new habits is learning how to create them for yourself. Any simple habit is a good starting point. One that works well for me is picking my top three daily must-do tasks. After reviewing my upcoming day, it takes me less than a minute to select them. It makes the rest of my day more meaningful and productive, so it’s not a bad return on a small investment of time. 

Of course, there’s an endless list of habits you can implement in your life that would make you healthier, wiser, happier, and more productive. Any activity you do can most likely be segmented into a series of mini habits you do each day, week, or month. Complex behaviors, at work and in your personal life, are just a series of mini habits. Again, up to 95 percent of what you do is a habit, so isn’t that where we ought to begin with actual change?

The other good news is that it gets easier once you work on a habit, so you can make changes much faster. For instance, in 2017, I started a weekly writing habit of 500 words for distribution to members – this email, that comes out each Friday, then in November 2017, I expanded on the habit. After that, I increased my word count to 1,000 words. Writing 500 words used to take me an hour, but now I can write 1,000 words in 30 to 40 minutes. Getting into this habit allowed me to write my first book, released in May 2018. How was I able to do this? I created stackable habits! If I didn’t discover how I could use my habits to change my daily actions, writing a book would’ve just stayed a dream but instead, it became a reality.

I encourage you to make only one New Year’s resolution this year and instead commit to learning how to adopt new habits into your life. Start with one easy habit – and work your way into complex, multi-stage habits. They all work pretty much the same. However, once you know how to do it – you can change nearly everything you choose to do in your day. 

If you could adopt just one new habit, what would it be? What would be an easy habit for you to start the ball rolling in 2025? What leadership habits could you adopt to help make you a more effective leader? Will you give yourself the gift of change this year? These are all good questions to ask ourselves as we start 2025. From us here at MACNY, we wish you a blessed and prosperous New Year filled with the change – and new habits – you most desire!