3 Ways to Set Smarter New Year’s Resolutions

In this episode of "Office Hours," Arthur Brooks discusses New Year's resolutions, highlighting their high failure rate due to their negative, avoidance-based nature. He explains that people often frame resolutions around what they want to avoid, which leads to unpleasant rumination and reliance on willpower, a finite resource. Brooks offers a three-step protocol for more successful resolutions: making goals positive and approach-oriented, setting tiny, progressive goals, and, if choosing negative goals, focusing on stopping activities one hates. He suggests practical examples such as taking cooking classes instead of restrictive dieting, starting with minimal exercise, and setting positive saving goals. Brooks also touches on external sabotage from others and encourages listeners to break negative habits like excessive mirror-gazing, consuming political news in the morning, and immediately using devices upon waking. He ends by advocating for forgiveness as a powerful way to release resentment and improve overall well-being, and answers a couple of questions from listeners.