Positive new habits get rid of unhelpful old ones

Many people think January is a great time to get rid of bad habits — for example, to give up late-night snacking or to stop spending so much time online.

While these are laudable resolutions, getting rid of an undesirable behaviour has less chance of succeeding in the long run than establishing a new positive habit.

This is because, when you focus exclusively on eliminating an undesirable habit, there’s nothing in its place when you encounter the cues that trigger it.

With empty time on your hands, it’s all too tempting to fall back on old ways.

If, instead, you resolve to create a new health-giving habit, something that adds to your life rather than threatens your wellbeing, you’ll immediately be spending more time constructively. And if you choose something that makes some of your bad habits less possible — for example, to sign up for an interesting evening class if you spend all your evenings glued to a screen

— you win twice over, because the maladaptive behaviour won’t be possible while you are carrying out your positive resolution.

This approach is particularly helpful if you decide to work on your thoughts or emotions.

Cultivating positive thoughts and feelings will not only leave less time for negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, or low mood. When you turn your attention to positive feelings such as joy, hope and gratitude, or focus on developing serenity, you reap extra rewards as well.

Nancy Sin and Sonja Lyubomirsky at the University of California Riverside compiled results from 51 studies and found cultivating positive feelings, thoughts and/or behaviours is significantly associated with increased wellbeing.

Lea Waters at the University of Melbourne reviewed 12 school-based programmes that encouraged students to practise positive feelings and found those who took part reported increased wellbeing, better relationships and improved academic performance.

Becoming more positive may even help you live longer.

Toshihiko Maruta and others at the Mayo Clinic, and Deborah Danner and colleagues at the University of Kentucky found a significant correlation between longevity and a positive outlook on life.

You’ll also enhance your creativity, according to Alice Isen at the University of Maryland. Furthermore, a positive outlook appears to be self-generating, as Heather Wadlinger and Derek Isaacowitz at Brandeis University discovered.

This year, why not choose a positive emotion and spend time every day nurturing it?

You could note the happiest moments each day, write down something new you have learnt, or thank someone who has shown you kindness. Linda Blair is a clinical psychologist and author of ‘Siblings: How to Handle Rivalry and Create Lifelong Loving Bonds’.