'If you want to stick with a New Year’s resolution, research suggests adding something good to your life, rather than trying to subtract something you think is bad,' writes columnist John Warner.
If you want to stick with a New Year’s resolution, research suggests adding something good to your life, rather than trying to subtract something you think is bad.
Denying yourself something you want requires a constant struggle, one you’re likely to lose. With enough willpower, you can sometimes get over the hump of that desire and truly change behaviors, but the odds aren’t great.On the other hand, if you’re adding something that enhances your life, you create a virtuous circle that reinforces the change.
When it comes to reading resolutions, this is pretty easy to achieve. In past years, for example, I’ve pledged to myself to read for at least an hour every day that’s not before bed — when I’m more likely to fall asleep than read — and to diversify my reading by seeking out more authors from nonwhite backgrounds, as well as more books in translation.This has resulted in changes to behavior that I no longer notice as changes. They’re simply now regular parts of my reading routine.
I’m starting with two books that were finalists for the 1973 National Book Award that I’d also never heard of, “Hermaphrodeity” by onetime, longtime University of Illinois-Chicago professor Alan Friedman, and “The Late Great Creature” by Brock Brower .