With a blink, 46 weeks of 2024 have just flown by. We witnessed 10 months of tumultuous change that have been watershed years for India and across the world. Governments have come and gone. Nature has washed away huge swathes of land. Businesses have launched successful IPOs, and some have gone bankrupt. The cycle of life continues.

Humanity keeps charging on. We are a resilient species. Positivity propels us further because the evidence for optimism is overwhelming. People who can use optimistic thinking have better health, financial, social, psychological, and spiritual outcomes.

You might ask what is the secret?
The story about humanity at large is never about those big bang investments and projects. The success of India is about these microstories, which make up our social and economic fabric and really make the difference in our lives.

How does it really start?
The process of making that difference? Thomas Carlye was asked, how do I make the world a better place? To which the witty man replied, “Take care of yourself, and we will have one less rascal to worry about”.

Try this on yet another Monday morning.
Think about your life in the future. Imagine that everything has gone as well as it possibly could. You have worked hard and succeeded at accomplishing all your life goals. Think of this as the realisation of your life dreams. Now, write about what you imagined.

Even if you are half my age, then chances are you have witnessed close to an average of 30 cycles of resolutions, and even if you heard an average of 10 resolutions every year, you have heard 300 of them, and most of them have failed, and therefore your cynicism of not believing in New Year Resolutions perhaps seems justified.

Let’s explore the effectiveness of making a New Year’s resolution.
The Fresh Start Effect is a fascinating psychological concept explored by Dr Katy Milkman, a behavioural scientist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

This concept centres on the idea that people are more likely to initiate positive changes following a “temporal landmark”—a point in time that feels like a fresh beginning.

These landmarks can be dates like the start of a new week, month, or year as well as personal milestones, such as a birthday, a new job, or moving to a new city.

Essentially, the Fresh Start Effect harnesses our inclination to view certain moments as opportunities to leave past mistakes behind and turn a new leaf.

The Science Behind the Fresh Start Effect
Dr. Milkman’s research suggests that fresh starts work because they create a psychological distance between our current self and our past, potentially flawed self. These moments allow us to redefine our identity and motivation, which is why resolutions made on New Year’s Day tend to be taken more seriously, at least initially, than goals set on random days.

Examples of the Fresh Start Effect in Action

1. New Year’s Resolutions: One of the most common examples is the spike in goal-setting and health-oriented habits around New Year’s. Gym memberships, diet plans, and wellness routines see a huge increase in sign-ups during January. The “new year, new me”, mentality demonstrates how people feel that the beginning of the year marks a clean slate, motivating them to pursue their goals with renewed energy.
2. Birthdays and Decade Milestones: Significant birthdays, like turning 30, 40, or 50, often spark a reassessment of one’s life direction. People might start setting bigger goals or make a decision to adopt healthier habits as they reach these milestone birthdays. A study found that individuals are more likely to run their first marathon during a year when their age ends in a “9”—29, 39, or 49—showing a tendency to start fresh as they approach a new decade.
3. Beginning of the School Year or Job Change: Teachers often notice that students start the school year with improved motivation and dedication compared to how they ended the previous year. Similarly, professionals starting a new job or receiving a promotion may see it as an opportunity to redefine themselves as more organized, proactive, or ambitious. This sense of novelty and self-reinvention contributes to enhanced engagement.
4. Monday Motivation: Studies have shown that people are more likely to set fitness goals or pursue wellness plans at the start of the week, treating Monday as a “Mini New Year.” This inclination to start on a Monday provides a fresh-start effect weekly, allowing individuals to reset their goals or restart efforts that might have lagged.

Leveraging the Fresh Start Effect
Understanding the Fresh Start Effect can be powerful for personal growth and change. Instead of waiting for the next big event, people can create “fresh starts” more frequently. Setting micro-resolutions at the start of each month or making slight shifts in routine with each new season can help sustain motivation over time.

By recognizing and utilizing these psychological landmarks, we can better harness the natural inclination for self-improvement that comes with each fresh start, making positive changes stick with lasting effects.

Let’s see some more facts. Research indicates that just telling someone you will vote increases the actual chances of walking to the polling booth.

Professor Norcross tested if New Year resolvers who made a public declaration of their goals actually stuck to them, as compared to the non-resolvers. He found that, six months later, 4% of non-resolvers had stuck to their goal. On the other hand, 46% of the resolvers had stuck to their goal. A 10-fold difference.

That is not all. Resolvers who were confident about their ability to meet their goals were significantly more likely to achieve their goals. So, confident New Year resolvers not only outscored the non-resolvers but also the non-confident resolvers.

Does it sound vaguely familiar? We have a phrase for this. It is called, wait for it, self-fulfilling prophecies. Guess what, it is not a Rhondaesque, Chopraesque or Robinesque theory. This is science at work.

What kind of goals work?
Firstly, they have to be your own goals. If your friends have been forcing you to lose weight, chances are this resolution will not work. Secondly, losing weight to look good or feel healthy will work better than wanting to look good to not feel ugly. Your goal has to be positive and because you want it, really badly.

Then you may ask how.
Again, research shows that just thinking about it helps. Taking action helps even more. David Myers, in his Social Psychology textbook, has huge evidence which proves that simply doing something changes the way we feel about it. Once you go for that first walk on January 2 and come back home sweaty and with bones aching, the feeling that losing weight is totally worth it will take root. Sitting at home is not going to build anything.

Give yourself a little milestone.
You will walk one kilometre or you will lose just a quarter of a kilo in the first week. You feel good when you achieve the first small milestone. You will soon be caught in an upward spiral.

Therefore, on this Monday morning, wish you a very positive day and week ahead and wish you a very happy New Year 2025.