The Fresh Start Effect: Why You're Compelled to Make New Year’s Resolutions
If you feel compelled to make a New Year resolution, there's some science behind that. At the beginning of last year, I wrote about the Fresh Start Effect, which Dan Pink wrote about in his excellent book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Dan referenced research that demonstrated how using a significant date as a temporal landmark to start something new was helpful in our navigation of time.
You can read my whole piece here, which includes a brief summary of the differences between social and personal landmarks and offers some basic tips on sticking with it. Remember to check out Dan's book, too; I read it in 2022 and still reference it regularly.
It's worth noting that most resolutions, even with the best intentions, do not stick. That's largely down to a misunderstanding of the power of habits and an inability to change those negative soundtracks that get stuck in our heads. Some further reading offers helpful insights to making successful resolutions beyond just stating a goal to your fellow revelers over champagne while watching the Death Star blow up.
Three Questions From Dan Pink to Keep Your Group in Sync
I finished When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Dan Pink last week. The book delves into how timing affects our ability and desire to get stuff done, and focuses on the when as much as someone like Simon Sinek looks at the why. It’s really a fascinating read, I strongly recommend it.
I always enjoy actionable takeaways from books, and the final chapter offers three questions that any group should ask themselves on a regular basis in order to ensure that everyone is synced up.
The Three Questions
The three questions created by Dan are:
Do we have a clear boss—whether a person or some external standard—who engenders respect, whose role is unambiguous, and to whom everyone can direct their initial focus?
Are we fostering a sense of belonging that enriches individual identity, deepens affiliation, and allows everyone to synchronize to the tribe?
Are we activating the uplift—feeling good and doing good—that is necessary for a group to succeed?
I’m planning to enshrine these questions into future group operations. They’re so simple to ask and can help insight into how a group dynamic is changing. They also might be an early indicator into what I call group decay.
Avoiding Group Decay
Group decay is what happens when things start to fall apart and the result is a lack of effective forward momentum. There are many potential causes for this. Most often, a change in group leadership or significant turnover in the team can shift the focus and energy to an extent that is difficult to overcome. Other times, changes in or a total lack of a clear mission statement can stall things and that can push the strongest group members, your champions of momentum, away.
I think the three questions bring up ideas about group dynamics that are key for success, and like the legs of a stool you aren’t going to be upright for very long without them all being in good shape.
I do think the focus on the feeling and doing good from question three, which for me feels like one of the strongest selling points of working in a group setting, is particularly useful in keeping people motivated and boosting morale. Having a sense of doing the right thing is incredibly powerful and can help a person on even their hardest day to keep moving forward in a productive way.
If you are leading a group and you use these questions, let me know how it goes.
Weekly Quote: Daniel Pink on Gratitude
This week’s quote comes from When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink. It is Thanksgiving week in the United States, and this felt like the right quote to share around a holiday that has turned into a time for reflection and appreciation for so many of us.
Dan ends each chapter of When with a collection of relevant tips called the Time Hackers Handbook, and this quote is pulled from a section dedicated to taking restorative breaks. One way to find restoration is through expressing gratitude, which can be done by taking ten or fifteen minutes to write a few thoughts of appreciation or reach out to friends, family members, or colleagues to reconnect or say thank you. Doing this can improve your mood and strengthen your network at the same time. People want to hear from you, despite what that voice in your head says. Reaching out to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while rarely results in anything but happiness.
At the end of every day, I spend a few minutes writing in my gratitude journal. It’s a small act with outsized results. These short entries sometimes spark a note to a friend or family member or introduce a new way of thinking about a situation that provides clarity and some perspective. There is plenty of science behind this idea too. From a Harvard Health article on the subject:
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
I encourage you to start a gratitude journal. It doesn’t take a lot of time to do, and has the power to help you feel that sense of mighty restoration that this quote references. You don’t need a fancy journal. Just a notebook or even a notecard will do. Every day, record the date and then write about something for which you feel gratitude. After doing this for a few weeks or a month, take a look back, and you’ll feel an extra boost from your collected gratitude and that will fuel your momentum to keep going. Gratitude engages something special inside of you. Make sure you’re listening to what it’s teaching you because you will be better for it.
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