Ideas and insights: How to make your resolutions stick

Are you like me and maintain your resolutions for while only to fade out and fall back into your previous habits? I used AI to help me find a way to think about change that makes sense. It cross-references motivation and ability with the personal dimension (yourself), the social dimension (your interactions with others), and the structural dimension (the environment in which you live and function). 

Those six sources of influence, when applied effectively, can lead to significant, sustainable changes in behavior. Here’s how you might be able to harness each element to create personal change:

1. Personal Motivation: Change starts with the individual’s own motivation. To harness this, an individual needs to connect the change to their intrinsic values and desires.
• Example: If someone wants to lose weight, they could focus on the personal benefits they value most, like improved health, more energy, or feeling good in their clothes, rather than just the number on the scale.
2. Personal Ability: This involves developing the skills and knowledge necessary to make and sustain the change.
• Example: For the goal of weight loss, this might mean learning about nutrition, mastering healthy cooking methods, or finding effective workout routines.
3. Social Motivation: Leveraging social forces can provide additional motivation. This means surrounding oneself with people who support and encourage the change.
• Example: Joining a fitness group or finding a workout buddy can provide encouragement, accountability, and a sense of community.
4. Social Ability: This involves creating or seeking a support system that makes it easier to change.
• Example: A person might ask family members to join them in eating healthier meals, or they could seek professional support from a dietitian or personal trainer.
5. Structural Motivation: This includes modifying one’s environment to encourage and reinforce the desired change, often using rewards or penalties.
• Example: Setting up a reward system where one treats themselves to a movie or a small gift for every week they stick to their fitness plan.
6. Structural Ability: This is about changing the physical environment to make the desired behavior easier and the undesired behavior harder.
• Example: For weight loss, this could mean removing unhealthy foods from the house and preparing healthy snacks in advance, making it easier to make healthy choices. 

By effectively applying these six sources of influence, individuals can create a comprehensive and supportive environment for themselves that fosters and sustains personal change. The key is to not rely on just one or two sources, but to integrate all of them for a more holistic and effective approach to change. 

Of course, the most important element about creating personal change is to start doing it, being consistent, and working  the essential things. That’s Nordic Walking Guy’s 3 rules:

• Walk with purpose!
• Be consistent!
• Everything counts, but not everything matters!

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