Blasting Your New Year's Resolution on Social Media Might Be a Huge Mistake
By Lauren Le Vine, REDBOOK.
"Can't wait to run a marathon in 2014!" "We're making 2014 the year we finally quit gluten for good!" "Diet starts *tomorrow.* I figure saying it here will make me actually do it lol."
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Do any of those look familiar? Chances are resolutions just like them have peppered your news feed for several days now. At this point, you're either wondering if you should write your own resolution status update or unfollow everyone on your timeline who fell into the trap. Before you do either one, though, you should have the proper information about what it really means to assert your goals for the year on such a public forum.
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According to Scientific American, what matters most in this situation is your intention. Broadcasting statements like "I'm going to do a Piloxing DVD every day" "can create a sense of progress towards a goal, even if you haven't done anything yet." We've all been there: This is the year you actually sign up for that bread-baking class! But in the rush of adrenaline that comes with making a major decision and sharing it with all your friends and followers, it's easy to forget all the action you now have to take to put the plan in motion.
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Research has found that while it can be helpful to publicly declare goals in order to feel accountable to the people you tell, it's important to view this as a commitment to the resolution, not actual progress towards the goal. So go ahead and write that status update with your resolutions for 2014, but make sure you're doing it for the right reason. If you want your Facebook friends to see you as a person who runs marathons, you have to train and complete a marathon. Merely stating the objective does not a marathoner make.
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