From finally getting fit to ditching the booze once and for all, many of us will be setting ambitious New Year’s Resolutions this weekend.
If you’re already doubting whether you’ll be able to keep these promises, thankfully help is at hand.
Scientists have revealed the best way to spin the abandonment of resolutions to maintain your friends’ respect.
Instead of blaming a lack of self-control, the team from Bayes Business School says that you should blame external factors, such as a lack of money.
‘Citing factors many of us have less control over, such as lack of money, can produce perceptions of having better self-control even when we abandon our New Year’s resolution or break a commitment,’ said Dr Janina Steinmetz, lead author of the study.
From finally getting fit to ditching the booze once and for all, many of us will be setting ambitious New Year’s Resolutions this weekend. If you’re already doubting whether you’ll be able to keep these promises, thankfully help is at hand
In the study, the team set out to investigate which excuses people are most sympathetic to when it comes to broken New Year’s Resolutions.
‘Many resolutions or commitments involve either time or money, so the lack of one or the other seems to provide a good excuse for breaking it without adversely affecting how others see us,’ Dr Steinmetz said.
‘However, these two excuses are not equally effective.’
In the study, 200 participants were asked to read about people who failed to keep a commitment to eat healthier food.
Some people blamed the cost of cooking healthy meals, while others said they were defeated by a lack of time.
When asked to rate the people on self-control and as potential gym partners, the participants rated the first group more highly.
‘These results are surprising because people like to use lack of time as an excuse when they can’t do something,’ said Dr Steinmetz.
‘They equate lack of time with high status. However, the studies suggest we tend to think others could find the time to exercise or cook healthy meals if they were sufficiently motivated.’
Instead of blaming a lack of self-control, the team from Bayes Business School says that you should blame external factors, such as a lack of money (stock image)
Aside from how we spin our failed New Year’s Resolution, the researchers say the results could have implications for local authorities and NHS organizations working with people trying to lose weight.
‘People often justify a diet heavy in fast food or TV dinners by saying it is quicker than buying and cooking healthy ingredients,’ Dr Steinmetz explained.
‘Organizations promoting or marketing healthy lifestyles or working with patients around behavior change can challenge that self-aggrandizing claim that people are “just too busy” to choose the healthy option.
‘They can promote healthy but easy-to-prepare meals using affordable ingredients or the benefits of even half an hour’s aerobic activity.
‘That would undermine the credibility of an all-too-familiar excuse.’
What’s more, the findings could prove useful for people in the market for a new job or romance, according to Dr Steinmetz.
‘In job interviews and on dating website questionnaires, people are often invited to talk about a failure they’ve had in life,’ she added.
‘Obviously, we’ve all had them, but when explaining why, whether you’re looking for a job or for romance, blaming uncontrollable factors might help you convey a positive image.
‘Although my research didn’t look at those contexts, it might be wise to avoid the temptation to blame lack of time.’
