How to form healthy New Year's resolutions (and actually stick to them)

The start of a new calendar year invariably represents a chance for a fresh start. Coupled with the desire to leave behind any (often literal) hangovers from the previous year, it’s no surprise that New Year’s resolutions tend to focus on our personal health.

With the World Health Organisation (WHO), having defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, there are innumerable aspects of health to address. Whether exercising more, managing stress, learning a new skill, getting more sleep, or any number of other goals — when it comes to one’s health, there’s always room for improvement.

Related: Reckless abandon: Why risk-taking could actually be good for you

While the concept of “New Year, New You” dominates each January (discounted gym memberships being a prime example of how companies capitalise on this collective period of self-improvement), 80 per cent of New Year's resolutions fail by February according to multiple studies. Unfortunately, the forming of small, regular actions and practices known as habits is not as easy as simply setting an intention. Behavioural change is complex — even before the addition of everyday stresses, distractions and obligations. So how can we better identify and tackle that which is getting in the way of our goals? And how can we approach desired change in a tangible way?

We’ve enlisted the help of specialists to understand why we sabotage our own plans, and to get practical tips for keeping healthier habits in 2024.

Psychologist Fredrik Rickardson, Group Manager at Sophiahemmet Rehab Center in Stockholm, is familiar with the challenges that people face when attempting to change their behaviour. According to Rickardson, one of the biggest obstacles to change is when the desired new behaviour lacks what are referred to as “reinforcing consequences”. (Outside of the profession, these consequences are sometimes called “rewards” but that term incorrectly implies only receiving something valuable in return for a behaviour, whereas consequences can also be punitive.)

Rickardson explains that if the reinforcing consequences exist too far in the future to be felt immediately, then there is no connection between the behavioural change trying to take place and its effects. For example, simply knowing that exercise is good for you has no direct impact on your behaviour right now — it’s a belief that will still be true even if you postpone that running session until tomorrow. And since the consequences of postponing exercising are merely a vague threat that exists in the future, that leaves room for the more enjoyable behaviour (i.e. the option of not exercising) to win in the moment. We all recognise that comfy self-congratulatory feeling of putting on your leggings to just sit on the sofa and watch Netflix, don't we?

Related: Video: Wake up the right way with Pernilla Böckerman’s gentle, full-body workout

To encourage behavioural change, one route is to reinforce motivation by using short-term consequences — either positive rewards or punishment-laden threats. One tangible way to do this is to make a commitment to others. Simply shifting a vague “I’ll start exercising tomorrow” to a more concrete “I’ll meet you at 6am to work out tomorrow”, turns intention into action. In this case, the new behaviour is supported from two motivating angles — the introduction of a positive social reinforcer, as well as the threat of potential punishment: the shame of letting a friend down.

In a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology and carried out at University College London found that it takes an individual anywhere between 18 and 254 days to form a habit, and that, on average, it takes 66 days for a new behaviour to become automatic (not 21, as previously thought).

Someone who is specialised in coaching precisely such habit formation is the CEO and founder of Psykologifabriken, Swedish psychologist Oskar Henrikson. He believes in training the brain just like a muscle, so much so that he has devised a digital platform for behavioural change, Habitud. Just like a psychological gym, it’s a tool that helps users develop new habits through science-based exercises and training tips.

We’ve taken some of his guidance together with Rickardson’s wisdom to guide you on how to make — and keep — your own healthy habits:

Start by doing something small but achievable — and then progressively level up. Unfortunately, your New Year’s enthusiasm does not mean that everything else will suddenly align with your desire for change, and setting yourself too-high ambitions will only lead to failure. Just as you wouldn’t expect to be able to run a marathon the day after you decide to take up running, unrealistic goals that require sudden and drastic changes in behaviour will soon feel impossible.

You are more likely to meet your goals by incrementally building on feasible, if more humble, new behaviours. Taking just one small step, followed by another, will move you forward. And you will soon see all those individual small steps add up.

Make things as easy as possible for yourself. An extension of the concept of starting small, reducing the difficulty level of your goals can be done by breaking them down into smaller, bite-sized ones. By reframing the goal into a series of easier parts, you remove the barriers to success that stem from being overwhelmed by a seemingly difficult or insurmountably “big” goal.

Related: 7 best outdoor spots in Scandinavia to swim all year round

Henrikson references the challenge he set himself of swimming in nature every day for a year. By starting in summer, he removed any difficulty associated with swimming in cold water, but when winter came around, he had to dig deeper to maintain motivation. By breaking down his daily swimming goal into the smallest of micro-goals (getting out of bed, doing some yoga, leaving home, walking to the water, etc.), he was able to use the momentum of each small accomplishment to reach his ultimate goal of getting into the cold water.

Staring into an unknown future can feel unnervingly abstract and unfamiliar. Instead, use what you know from your past to help build your motivation. Henrikson recommends looking back at the past year’s diary and taking stock of what felt meaningful, noting when you were happiest, what you felt good about achieving or what you simply loved doing. Let those instances serve as inspiration for actions and behaviour that you want to have more of in the coming year. Since they are literally shaped from your own concrete examples of what you know will motivate you, their associated difficulty level is also lowered.

Synonymous with forced determination, willpower will eventually wear out. And when it does, you will be left feeling like a failure — not exactly a great way to start the year. In order for habits to become part of you in a healthy way, they need to be aligned with what you really want and be in tune with who you are — not be a change that you are trying to force upon yourself. Instead of relying on willpower, Henrikson suggests turning inwards, to let yourself be led by your own interests, passions and values.

Imagine yourself at your own 80th birthday party: if someone made a speech, what would you like them to say about you? What passions, interests and values drive you? The answers form the basis of your uniquely individual reasoning for pursuing your goals.

Related: Why screaming into the abyss may be just the mindfulness trick you need

According to Henrikson, people unwittingly self-sabotage by attempting to change too much and by trying to “make things too new”. Instead, he suggests making changes within established routines, to use momentum that is already in place in familiar habits and keep unnecessary newness to a minimum. This could look like getting off the bus one or two stops before you usually would, to incorporate more exercise into your regular journey. Alternatively, if you always meet a friend for a drink on a Monday, try meeting a little earlier to include a walk before.

Relying on the distracting power of newness puts you in danger of becoming a victim of what Rickardson refers to as the “pleasure of novelty”. If there aren’t concrete reinforcing consequences in place when the initial highs of founding a new behaviour fade, then the unsustainable change will fail.

Saying something as vague as “I want to be healthier” will not lead to concrete action. “I want to nourish myself with 10 servings of vegetables each week”, however, is tangible in its clarity. Getting very specific about your goals will bring you closer to realising them. And once you have clarified your goals, share them.

Related: Everything you need to know before going veggie in winter

Clearly formulating your intentions to others and inviting people to be part of your journey can help further define them. Telling a friend about your goals, for example, can be a surprisingly helpful exchange — their viewpoint might lead you to examine your plans more thoroughly, and allow you to pinpoint more precisely what it is you are really aiming for or want.

Which leads us to...

By sharing your goals with others, not only do you minimise any unhelpful isolation, but you also reduce its difficulty level. Beyond waiting for others to volunteer their support, Henrikson even suggests directly enlisting friends to be your cheerleaders — tell them how much it means to you when they praise you for sticking to your new habits, or ask them to be more vocal in their support for you.

Henrikson also proposes the idea of a collective resolution, such as setting a shared goal together as a family. Open and collective enthusiasm for a common goal can lead to a more positive shared experience and unexpected support when it is most needed. As a bonus, when your new behaviour is linked to the well-being or success of others, then a dutiful sense of accountability towards others can become an additional driving force.