RESOLUTIONS OR EFFORTS TO IMPROVE, WHY WE FAIL, WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS, AND SIMPLE SUGGESTIONS CoolSculpting Special with FREE Cool Tone Enhancing Abdominals, Buttocks, or Legs Non-Alcoholic Wine, Beer, and Spirits for a Dry or Even Less Wet 2026 Less Hair in a Swimsuit- Laser Hair Removal Specials, Now’s the Time to Start Patient Fi and Care Credit, Payment Plans including No Interest on 6 Month Plans
Mused after reading “New Year’s resolutions may be the most widespread behavioral experiment ever attempted- a great unsupervised trial in overconfidence.”
Some top New Year’s resolutions and percentage of Americans who want to do them: exercising more-25%, being happier-23%, eating healthier-22%, saving more money-21%, improving mental health-21%, learning something new-17%, spending more time with family-15%, and praying more-15%.
FIRST, WHY MOST RESOLUTIONS FAIL
The answer is we are awful forecasters of our own future behavior. A New Year’s resolution is essentially a contract your present self signs and your future self treats as a nonbinding suggestion. The technical term for this is failure waiting to happen.
Other problems include a time inconsistency or “present bias”. What seems to look good in the long term is actually what makes the action in the short term more difficult. Another way of failure is called “the fresh start effect.” Implementing behavior changes on holidays, birthdays, or Mondays has not shown to provide a burst of motivation that leads to durable changes in behavior.
WHAT ACTUALLY WORKS?
Believe it or not, there is a simple formula stemming from research. People with approach-oriented goals were 26% more successful than those with avoidance goals. For example, “exercise three times a week” does better than “stop eating junk food”. Avoidance goals require constant vigilance and a battle of will, while approach goals build momentum and, over time, reshape identity.
The next principle in design is to make the goal embarrassingly small. It is designed to accomplish even on your worst days. Enduring resolutions acknowledge that fatigue, distraction, and constraints occur. Momentum comes from visible wins. Evidence favors goals that deliver quick, unambiguous feedback: steps counted, pages read, or a workout logged.
(Did You Know? January 17 is known as “Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day”. Only half of Americans stick to their New Year’s resolutions after one month.)
Be specific and actionable. For example:
Exercise More: I will go for a 20-minute walk after breakfast/dinner/work on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Eat Healthier: I will add at least one fruit or vegetable to every meal while cutting the portion size of other foods on my plate.
Lose Weight: I will not bring foods home that are unhealthy or cause me to overeat.
Take inventory by recording what you eat or do:
Exercise More: I will start by finding a physical activity I enjoy and do it once a week. When it becomes routine, I will add a second day.
Eat Healthier: I will aim to cook at home more often than I eat out and will increase this over time.
Lose Weight: I will plan healthier meals at regular times to avoid overeating or skipping meals.
Identify obstacles:
Exercise More: I will lay out my workout clothes the night before.
Eat Healthier: As I finish less healthy foods, I will replace them with healthier options.
Lose Weight: I will write down why I want to lose weight and put it in a place where I can see it regularly.
Finally, write resolutions for the person you actually are, not the idealized version of yourself on New Year’s Eve. Optimal resolutions work with human nature rather than trying to defy it, respecting the limits of motivation and leveraging the power of behavioral economics.
-Tufts Health and Nutrition Letter; Roland Fryer, Professor of economics, Harvard, WSJ
LA DOLCE VITA, JOIE DE VIVRE:
Dry January or just want to lower your alcohol intake through non-alcoholic drinks? Here are some of the tastier ones. Most of these you can find at Kroger or Amazon.
Wine
Giesen Chardonnay, Rose, and Sauvignon Blanc
Seaglass Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc
Ariel Cabernet and Chardonnay
Fre Sparkling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Grigio
Surely red blend
Beer
Heineken 00 (this is in my fridge, good tasting)
Athletic (a friend drinks this when we go out)
Samuel Adams IPA (again in my fridge and the best tasting IPA in my opinion)
Stout: Guinness Zero (and the top-scoring beer)
Corona, Great Lakes, Budweiser, and most local breweries all have non-alcoholic beers
Spirits
Seedlip Trio
MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin
Ritual Zero Proof Tequila Alternative
Spiritless Kentucky 74
Ritual Zero Proof Rum and Gin
MCKENNA MEMBERSHIP REWARDS:
McKenna Membership Rewards entitles you to a “butterfly stamp” for every $50 you spend on goods, services, and injectables (surgery and some procedures are not included). For every 20 butterfly stamps you receive, we will take $50 off your next purchase. Call us for more details.
SKIN CARE SPECIAL:
Laser Hair Removal Special
Laser Hair Removal package of 4, 20% off single treatment pricing.
Laser Hair Removal package of 6, normally 20% off single treatment, now 30% off!
Purchase another package after the first, and receive 50% off the single package price.
MONTHLY PAYMENT PLANS:
Monthly Payment Plans for surgeries, skincare, and injectables through CareCredit and Patient Fi. Call us for details. Currently, there is no interest on 6-month plans.
TESTIMONIAL:
Everyone was wonderful. I could not have made a better decision to have Dr. McKenna and his staff do my tummy tuck. Every question and concern were addressed to full understanding. The facility is beautiful, more relaxing than a hospital setting. Thank you so much. M.T
Healthy Living,
Peter McKenna, M.D.
513.793.5772
mckennamd.com
McKenna Cosmetic Surgery Center | 513.793.5772 |10577 Montgomery Road | Cincinnati, OH 45242
30+ Years of Improving Lives
A Cincinnati Magazine “Top Doc” since 1998
Allergan Top 500 Physician
SkinCeuticals “Flagship” Practice
And now a Luminary (expert) for Endymed RF Fractional Treatments
(I do write all the emails and have done so since 2007. -PJM)
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