Caroline Adams Miller, author of "Big Goals," explains how you can keep those financial New Year's resolutions.
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00:00So we've been doing some digging around.
00:02We found some estimates that find that about 80% of people
00:05end up quitting their New Year's resolutions by February.
00:09So what is it about New Year's resolutions
00:12that makes them so hard to stick to?
00:17Right, well, actually they quit their resolutions
00:19usually by Blue Monday, which is the third Monday of January
00:23because often the biggest mistake people make
00:26is setting too many self-regulation goals
00:28and not setting whatever they do set correctly.
00:31So we have a limited amount of willpower.
00:34So you don't wanna set a million goals
00:36that require delaying gratification
00:38and say no to yourself or even three, set one,
00:41but also set a well-formed goal.
00:43And that is the topic of my new book
00:46because I don't think most people know
00:48there is a science to goal setting.
00:50It's not just about setting a goal.
00:52There's much more to it than that.
00:53Tell me, what are your top tips for actually sticking
00:57to your New Year's resolutions?
00:58You have these performance goals,
01:00you have these learning goals, now how do I stick to them?
01:04First thing is make it specific, make it specific.
01:07Know exactly what you're driving for, no fuzziness.
01:10Secondly, don't set too many willpower goals.
01:14You will use up all of your willpower by noon
01:18if you're choosing constantly between the donuts
01:21or something else, skipping a workout.
01:23You only have so much willpower.
01:25Stick to one and the research shows you're more likely
01:27to improve in all other areas.
01:30Change your circle.
01:31Make sure the circle of people around you
01:33are people who support you
01:35and people who actually have the kinds of behaviors
01:38that are contagious that will help you accomplish your goal.
01:42And then measure, measure what matters.
01:44Always have a metric that tells you you're getting warmer
01:48or you're getting colder because you may have to pivot.
01:50You may have to disengage from your goal
01:52because suddenly the environment doesn't support it.
01:54Your life has changed.
01:56Always know how to have a quit criteria
01:59because something has changed.
02:01Otherwise you get into a condition I call stupid grit
02:05where you're persisting in the face of so many obstacles
02:08that it doesn't make sense anymore.
02:10So there's good grit, but then there's stupid grit.
02:13So you have to know when to quit,
02:15but you also need to be resilient
02:17in the process of doing your goal.
02:20So there is a difference between not being a quitter
02:23just because you feel like it's harder.
02:25Your brain is telling you, I've never done this before.
02:27You need to have some set of criteria in your brain
02:31that this is no longer fitting my life
02:35with I really need to change the channel in my brain
02:38to go to a growth mindset and to tell myself
02:42I can get through this desire to get out of the pool.
02:46It's too hard.
02:47It's too hard to learn artificial intelligence
02:50and integrate it with my job.
02:52So there is a difference there.
02:53Make it fuzzy, measure your progress,
02:57don't set too many willpower goals
02:59and surround yourself with people
03:00who are contagiously positive, who support you
03:03and who might even have the qualities
03:05that you want to catch from them.