1.Make a cue-based plan

做一份详细的计划

 

Just as cues tell Broadway stars when to step onto the stage, research has shown that adding a cue to your plan helps you remember when to act. Be sure to detail when and where you'll follow through.

正如出场提示告诉百老汇明星何时登台一样，研究表明，在你的计划中加入信息提示，能帮助你记住何时行动。一定要详细说明你将在何时何地做什么。

 

If your New Year's resolution is to meditate¹ five days each week, a plan like "I'll meditate on weekdays" would be too vague. But a cue-based plan like "I'll meditate at the office on weekdays during my lunch break" would fit the bill.

如果你的新年计划是每周冥想五天，那么像“我将在工作日冥想”这样的计划就太模糊了。但是，“我将在工作日的午休时间在办公室冥想”这样有信息提示的计划就很合适。

 

Plotting when and where you'll execute on your New Year's resolution jogs your memory when it's opportune² and generates guilt³ if you flake⁴ out. Detailed⁵ planning can also help you anticipate and dodge⁶ obstacles -- so if you plan to meditate during lunch, you'll be sure to decline a proffered⁷ lunch meeting.

提前想好你会在何时何地执行计划，这样做能在适当的时候让你想起自己的计划，如果你没有按照计划去做，就会产生内疚感。详细的计划也可以帮助你预测和避免阻碍——如果你计划在午餐时冥想，你一定会拒绝别人提出的午餐会议。

 

2.Consider a penalty clause

设置惩罚条款

 

This may sound sinister⁸, but ensuring you'll face some penalty if you don't achieve your New Year's resolution can work wonders.

这听起来可能有点狠，但如果完不成新年计划会让你受到一些惩罚的话，这可以创造奇迹。

 

One easy way to do this is by telling a few people about your goal so you'll feel ashamed if they check back later and find out you haven't followed through.

一个简单的方法是把你的目标告诉一些人，这样，如果他们后来发现你没有坚持下去，你会感到羞愧。

 

A steeper penalty than shame, however, is putting cold hard cash on the table, and there is excellent evidence that self-imposed cash penalties motivate success. You can make a bet with a friend that you'll stick to your New Year's resolution. The logic¹⁰ for why this works is simple. Incentives¹¹ change our decisions, and penalties are even more motivating than rewards.

而比羞愧感更有效的是金钱惩罚，有证据表明，自我施加的金钱惩罚可以激励成功。你可以和朋友打赌，赌你会坚持新年计划。这样做的逻辑很简单。激励措施会改变我们的决定，而惩罚甚至比奖励让我们更有动力。

 

3.Make it fun

找些乐趣

 

Most of us strive for efficiency when it comes to achieving our goals. If you want to get fit, you figure a punishing workout will be just the thing to produce rapid progress. If you want to ace⁹ a class, you assume long, distraction-free study sessions are key. But research has shown that focusing on efficiency can leave you high and dry because you'll neglect an even more important part of the equation: whether you enjoy the act of goal pursuit.

在完成目标的过程中，大多数人都力求高效。如果你的目标是锻炼身体，你会认为高强度的锻炼将能让你快速取得成效。如果你想学好一门功课，你会认为长时间、不被打扰的学习很重要。但研究表明，专注于效率会让你被困在原地，因为你会忽略更重要的事：你是否享受追求目标的过程。

 

If it's not fun to exercise or study, you're unlikely to keep at it. But if you get pleasure from your workouts or study sessions, research has found you'll persist longer. And in the end, that's what often matters most to achieving a New Year's resolution.

如果锻炼或学习没有乐趣，就不太可能坚持下去。但研究发现如果你从锻炼或学习中获得乐趣，就会坚持得更久。而最终，这往往是实现新年计划的最重要因素。

 

One way to make pursuing a goal that normally feels like a chore more fun is to combine it with a guilty pleasure. Consider only letting yourself watch your favorite TV show at the gym so you'll start looking forward to workouts. Or only letting yourself drink a mocha latte during study sessions so there is a hook to get you to the library.

想要把追求一个辛苦的目标变得更有趣，方法就是把它与有罪恶感的快乐结合起来。如果只允许自己在健身房看最喜欢的电视节目，你就会开始期待锻炼了。或者只让自己在学习期间喝摩卡拿铁，这样就有了去图书馆的动力。

 

4.Allow for emergencies

允许紧急情况

 

If you deviate¹² at all from your New Year's resolution, your instinct may be to declare yourself a failure and throw in the towel. Researchers call this the "what the hell effect." Here's what it looks like: You planned to get to bed early every night but couldn't resist staying up late one Friday to watch an extra episode of "Succession." After that, your early-to-bed plans went out the window because "what the hell," you'd already failed.

如果你完全违背了自己的新年计划，你可能本能地认输并放弃。研究人员称之为“去他的效应”。就比如这样：你计划每晚早睡，但忍不住在某个星期五熬夜多看一集《继承之战》，此后你的早睡计划泡汤了，因为“去他的”反正你已经失败了。

 

Happily, there is a way to dodge this fate. By setting tough goals (like a 10 pm bedtime every night) but giving yourself one or two get-out-of-jail-free cards each week, you can get better results than by setting either tough or easy goals without wiggle room, research has revealed.

幸运的是，有一种方法可以避免这种宿命。研究表明，设定困难的目标（比如每晚10点入睡），但每周给自己一两张豁免卡，就可以比设定没有回旋余地的或难或易的目标获得更好的结果。

 

5.Get a little help from your friends

借助朋友的帮助

 

Spending time around high achievers can boost your own performance. If your New Year's resolution is to run a marathon or write a book, you'd be wise to start hanging around friends who've made it to the finish line (literally or figuratively) and can show you how it's done. You'll pick up a bit just by spending time together because you'll be inclined to conform to their patterns of behavior.

花时间和高成就者在一起可以提高你自己的表现。如果你的新年愿望是跑一场马拉松或写一本书，那么明智的做法是开始与那些已经实现这一目标、可以告诉你如何做到的朋友们在一起。仅仅是和他们相处，你就会有收获，因为你会倾向于模仿他们的行为模式。

 

Strangely enough, there is evidence that coaching friends with shared goals can improve your success rate, too. When you're on the hook to give someone else tips on how to achieve, it boosts your self-confidence. It also forces you to be introspective about what works in ways you might not otherwise.

奇怪的是，有证据表明，指导有共同目标的朋友也能提高你的成功率。当你想给别人一些如何实现目标的建议时，这会增强你的自信。这样也会迫使你反省自己的方法是否对路。

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