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Danger Lampost

Futurist & Technology Consultant,

TEDCRED 10+

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What is your New Year's resolution?

A New Year's resolution is a commitment that a person makes to achieve personal goals, or reforming a bad habit. This is an ancient tradition, and one that I believe still serves a valuable function.

Yet a 2007 study by Richard Wisemen from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that only 12% of those who set New Year's resolutions succeed in keeping them. What gives?

"Resolutions are more sustainable when shared, both in terms of with whom you share the benefits of your resolution, and with whom you share the path of maintaining your resolution. Peer-support makes a difference in success rate with new year's resolutions" So says Frank Ra, author of "A Course in Happiness".

In the spirit of inspiring all of us to achieve worthy goals, I ask in this public forum: What is your New Year's resolution this year?

If I can, in a year's time I'll post a conversation here entitled something like, "How did you do on last year's resolution?" So, if you're still here too, you can refer back to this conversation and answer.

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  • greg dahlen 20+

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    Dec 26 2012: I never make a resolution because I'm very situationally oriented. In other words I know specific situations will come up during the year, and I'll have to deal with each one on its own terms, and I don't think it will help to have made some general, overarching resolution at the year's start.

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