New years resolutions don’t work, you might have worked that out by now but surprisingly people still persist with the idea that just by saying that this is what i want this year it will somehow magical appear.

Of course the health and fitness industry just loves new year starts, they get more new sign ups at this time of the year than any other. I think the average person lasts about 3 weeks and then goes back to the couch for their exercise.

So why is this? Well you might have heard the old adage that it takes 28 days to make of break a habit and its possibly true. But why should it be true? Heres a possible answer.

In you brain all your thoughts are in fact electrical signals, that also includes all behaviour, all actions and reactions. Its the reactions that I want to concentrate on for a moment. You might believe that you are in control of your life but the reality is that 95% of everything you do is a reaction that has been programmed into your mind , by you, based on past experiences. 

From our earliest moments , when we have very little in our brains we start to learn about the world and we watch and copy our parents and see what they do in all and every circumstance. As humans we have two very important drivers, fear and safety. We always go away from fear, or pain and towards safety and comfort. So at that early age as we experience all sorts of new experiences we learn automatically to move away from pain and fears towards comforts. Each time we do we tell our subconscious, the storehouse of all our reactions, what we need to do when we next encounter that situation. 

Over time as we recreate these reactions the neural pathways of electrical current get strengthened until they are possibly hard connections. This is how habits are formed. do anything repetitively and eventually you can stop thinking consciously how to do it, you can do it unconsciously. Driving, touch typing, smoking, anything can become an automated response. This includes a way of talking, a way of dealing with people, a way of using your hands whenever you talk of think about a particular thing, it all becomes automated.

So its January 1st and you decide to change your life. I'll get fit, give up smoking, whatever. At first you are all motivated and it looks like things are going to be different this time. But heres the rub. All through those early days and weeks you are using your conscious mind to drive your behaviour and using your conscious mind is hard work because its needed to do lots of other things all the time. You have to remember to go to the gym or get up for a run. The thing is that back there in your brain is the old pattern, still as strong as ever. the minute you forget to get up you revert to the old pattern again, its in control.

If you are not consistent with your new behaviour for at least 4 weeks and probably 6 or more the old behaviour is still there, it takes this long for your new behaviour to build a strong connection and whilst it does and you continue, the old one will eventually atrophy or die away. 

Think of it this way. Take an elastic band and wrap it around your thumb and next three fingers. open your fingers and hold the band stretched. commit to keep it this way for as long as you can. I will guarantee that long before your fingers get tired you will get distracted by something lease and you will let the fingers close. You conscious mind works in the same way. Once distracted , your old automated programming will take over.

What to do? In those crucial weeks you need to engage all and every method of reminding yourself of your new direction. post it notes everywhere, alarms on your phone, diary entries etc. you need to remind your conscious mind that this is what you are meant to be doing for long enough until your reprogramming has happened.