Why Do 92% of People Fail at This?

So, how are your New Year's resolutions going so far? I thought I should give this about a week before checking in…

92% of people don't make it, according to the University of Bristol. So, what do the 8% do right?

Most of us don't do well at this. The explosion of studies into how the brain works has scientists attempting to explain the science behind why we make resolutions—and more importantly, how we can keep them. Is there a secret behind those who do succeed? Maybe.

James Clear wisely notes, "New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results."

When I read this I thought, "This makes sense."

So, my new year's resolution this year is going to be to stop saying, "I don't have enough time." 

We all have exactly the same number of hours given to Albert Einstein, Madame Currie, Michelangelo, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Seuss, Mother Teresa, Helen Keller, Leonardo Da Vinci. We don't manage time. We manage ourselves with respect to time. 

Self-management is never easy.

Does this remind you of anyone you know?

Read next: Why Didn't That Great New Habit You Started Stick?

Autobiography in 5 Short Chapters by Portia Nelson

• Chapter 1: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
• Chapter 2: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I am in the same place, but it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
• Chapter 3: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in. It's a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
• Chapter 4: I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
• Chapter 5: I walk down a different street.

Good news: You are never stuck. Your brain is capable of great change!

Neuroscientist, George Edelman, notes that your cortex alone has 30 billion neurons which can make 1 million billion connections. Edelman states, "If we considered the number of possible neural circuits, we would be dealing with hyper-astronomical numbers: 10 followed by at least a million zeros. There are 10 followed by 79 zeros of particles in the known universe."

These staggering numbers explain why your brain is the most complex, 3 pound lump in the universe.

Your brain can change itself, and a brain changed is a life changed.

Which brings us back to the 8%, There are probably numerous reasons why the 8% succeed with their resolutions. Here's where it probably starts: these people pay attention. They pay attention to the gap. Between stimulus and response there is a gap. Habits are built in the gap. 

What is the gap. Here is my colleague and friend Susan Goldsworthy on “the gap”:

"....neurophysiologist Benjamin Libet was fascinated by the question of whether humans have free will. He led experiments to understand the mental timing involved when someone does a voluntary act. He chose a simple task the lifting of a finger. His research showed that 0.5 seconds before the voluntary movement of the finger there is a brain signal related to the action that is about to occur; it's called an action potential. Your unconscious brain decides, I will move my finger, 0.3 seconds before you are aware of it. At this point, there is a further 0.2 seconds where you are aware that you are about to move your finger, and you can intervene in the process and stop the move.

Now this is the exciting part! For every move you make, you have 0.2 of a second where you can actively, consciously intervene in the process and choose a different response. Viktor Frankl, Austrian psychiatrist and concentration camp survivor, was spot on when he wrote, between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. Now 0.2 of a second may not sound like much, but in brain terms, with billions of connections every second, it is a decent amount of time. Every time you make a decision, you have 0.2 of a second to choose a different response. Wow! Our right ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex can step right in and intervene in the limbic process." - Choosing Change

Perhaps this year a good resolution might be to mind the gap. Pay attention to your attention, be aware of your awareness, be conscious of your consciousness, think about your thinking. 

Here is my second resolution for this year. Every time I reach for my phone, I am going to mind the gap, and ask, "What am I doing? What should I be doing? What shouldn't I be doing?" Who knows what adventures and learning might result?! 

Best wishes for a happy, healthy 2026. I hope it is joyful for you, and a year where all of us get one step closer to the people that we want to be.

Thanks for reading. You are a genius!

This article was first published in Terry Small's Brain Bulletin newsletter.

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