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Mobile App: How to Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions
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Resolution App—How many of us have firmly declared that this year is the year we are going to spend more time with our kids, lose weight, eat healthier, start putting money aside, and live a happier life, but never make it past the second week of January? This year, there is a new app that will help you stick to your goals once and for all. It is called StickK and it is designed to promote a healthier lifestyle for you by allowing you to create "Commitment Contracts" with yourself to achieve your goals.
According to research conducted at the University of Hertfordshire, we're more likely to achieve our resolutions when we make them public. "Sharing our goals holds us accountable, so it's harder to back out," says John Norcross, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Scranton.
Before the site was launched, SticK carried out fieldwork to test the effectiveness of commitment contracts and found that those who placed stakes—whether this be putting their money where their mouth is, or simply making a promise to others—generally fulfill their commitment better than others whose resolution is a personal secret.
According to the StickK website, “We all need help to reach our goals—whether it's incentives or support from others. Years of economic and behavioral research show that people who put stakes—either their money or their reputation—on the table are far more likely to actually achieve a goal they set for themselves.”
The Commitment Contract concept is based on two well-known principles of behavioral economics:
1. People don't always do what they claim they want to do, and
2. Incentives get people to do things
In the Commitment Contract, the Resolution Maker sets the time period to start and finish the commitment and must report during the time of the commitment on progress made (weekly weight loss, for instance). The Resolution Maker can voluntarily, or not, place some money at stake and should the commitment fail, can decide where it should go to. You can even choose to donate money to a charity of your choice. The Referee, a friend or relative who will help you stay on track, is named and, finally, other StickK members are chosen as supporters—they give advice and support online and/or place encouraging messages in the Commitment Journal.
The best part is the app is completely free. So, take those New Year’s Resolutions and make the decision to stick to them. Commit both online and to yourself to achieve all that you can this year.
Good luck!
Do you make New Year's Resolutions? What do you do to make sure your reach your goals?
Jocelyn Lieppman
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