Don’t give up yet: use the science of forming a habit to succeed with your New Year’s Resolutions

It’s been a month since the new year. according to the latest statistics, 23% of New Year’s Resolution (NYR) makers gave up within the first week and only 39% have made it to the 30-day mark. In fact, 43% of those who make NYRS do so with the expectation of quitting in February. With these kinds of numbers, it’s no wonder that NYRS are the brunt of so much mockery.

but the fact remains that some people—about nine percent actually— cross the finish line at the end of the year with NYR success. Those elite have discovered that trying harder doesn’t quite cut it. Instead, it requires persistence and sometimes even a bit of mental reprogramming in order to win in the end.

Many people have heard that it takes 21 days to form a habit. This is based off of the observations of Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a cosmetic surgeon who published his findings in his book, ‘Psycho-cybernetics,’ in 1960. However, his claims were based on his observations of how long it took his patients’ mental image of themselves, not official research. In 2009, a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology showed that Maltz’ numbers were off-kilter. Depending on the habit and the person, it can take anywhere between 18 and 254 days for a new habit to feel natural and automatic. More than that, the average person could form a habit in a mere 66 days: a skooch over two months and a week.

It also showed that skipping a day every once in a while did nothing to hinder the habit-forming process. So, for those who are still sticking with their NYR, even if it’s still hard or discouragement is creeping in, don’t give up yet. Chances are reasonable that the habit will begin to feel automatic within the next few weeks as long as perseverance