Resolutions are better in March

I have always enjoyed making New Years Resolutions. Diligently writing them down and planning to succeed. Awhile back, I realized that I was making the same resolutions every year. Exercise more, eat less, etc. etc.

So I started making different resolutions along with the more traditional ones- resolutions to DO things, not just cutting out things. Celebrate more. Keep better in touch with family. Eat more vegetables. Drink more Champagne. I’ve had better success at keeping those.

This year, I haven’t written down any resolutions, but I still have them in my head (exercise more, eat less). I even joined a gym- on January 21 -the last day of their New Years special. The resolution most important to me, however, is to actually launch Feminist Utopia (see previous posts)….

Yes I recognize that it is now March. A bit late for New Year’s resolutions, but evidently there are some really good reasons to start your resolutions in March- it’s a thing. Who knew??? I also recognize that most people don’t achieve their resolutions. In 2007, Richard Wiseman tracked over 3,000 individuals to see how well they did keeping their New Years Resolutions. Overall, only 12% were successful in keeping their resolutions after one year.

I’m still optimistic that I’ll be able to achieve my goal of launching my podcast, thanks, in part to Richard Wiseman’s research. He randomly placed individuals into one of several groups, and asked them to follow different advice. He found that men and women responded differently to the type of advice given.

His recommendation for women- Go Public and persist in the face of setbacks.

For Men- Focus on creating goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time based, and also focus on how much better life will be for you, and those around you, when you achieve your resolution.

These simple differences often had surprisingly large effects. An extra 22% of men achieved their resolution when they engaged in goal setting, and women were almost 10% more likely to be successful when encouraged to persist in the face of setbacks.

So here I am, going public. Feminist Utopia is set to launch April 13, 2019, Ya’ll!!!