Featured Post from University of Delaware

When it comes to New Year's resolutions, think small

Jan 9, 2024

2 min

Philip Gable


By now, those of us who made New Year's resolutions are either off and running or off the rails. According to Philip Gable, professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, a lack of commitment and setting the bar too high are among the reasons many people fail to stick with their resolutions and achieve their goals.


“It's just this time of year when people feel like they should make a resolution, as opposed to other times in the year when it's less common but maybe more meaningful, like if you get a doctor's report and realize you need to change that aspect of your life," he said.


When people set goals, they tend to feel very motivated for a few days and falsely assume they’re committed to their goal. But as soon as that motivation wears off, they give up.


In order to be part of the 10% of people who keep their New Year’s resolutions, Gable said to break down big goals into small, achievable steps.


“I think a lot of times with goals, people will commit to a very big goal and not realize the smaller steps they need to take to achieve that goal,” Gable said. “If we have too big of a goal, we get emotionally distressed when we can't do it, or we fail because we set too big of a goal. Or maybe we couldn't think through all of the elements required to meet that really big goal. So starting small gives us something achievable, and then that gives you a platform to go to the next thing.”


To set up an interview with Gable, visit his profile and click on the contact button.

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Philip Gable

Philip Gable

Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences

Prof. Gable has expertise in emotion and motivational science; our sense of time, and neuroscience

Emotional TheoryMotivationNeuroscienceSocial PsychologyAutism

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