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.