20 January 2009
Media Information – general media
For immediate release
New Year’s Resolutions – why 94% of all of them fail
Cape Town, January 2009: As New Year approaches, lists of new years resolutions are growing, with very few of them maintained beyond the end of January In fact according to Rosalene Glickman, Ph.D, President of The World Academy of Personal Development Inc, 94% of all new year’s resolutions fail. (www.optimalthinking.com).
Weight loss and to quit smoking are the two most common new years resolutions and despite the best intentions, seldom succeed. Relationship improvement and personal development are also personal change programmes that people embark on, often with little or no success.
Statistics show that the average time it takes a person to break a new year\\\'s resolution is two weeks to one month. “Most resolutions fail because support systems were not in place at the start”.
According to Cape Town based learning and development consultant Jeremy Barty behaviourial change is more sustainable when supported by a tool or system.
“We all make New Year resolutions and we seldom maintain them beyond a few months. I have always been fascinated by behaviourial change and this lead me to develop a behaviourial change tool called MyCube”.
Barty developed the tool, MyCube, over five years with initial input from psychologist and philosopher Dr Wynand de Kock, to assist people in managing their own behaviourial change.
“MyCube is a simple grid containing nine key concepts that assists people in a process of behaviourial change that is simple, effective and long-term”.
“A simple observation of how we spend our time, is a fairly accurate reflection of what we value. In order for us to change our behaviour, we need to change what we value”, said Barty.
“If a person wants to loose weight, a core change of value would be the first step to bringing about this change”, said Barty.
“I used the product in a multi-national corporation where there was significant personal change amongst the 2000 staff as the MyCube tool assisted in bringing about behaviourial change in support of significant IT changes within the business. Each person in the organisation received a personal cube, which reminded them of the process to work through when wanting to change value and behaviour”, he added.
Psychologist Marc Rogatschnig says: “MyCube is a daily application methodology which helps people to analyse and adapt their behaviours to changing circumstances. The power of the methodology lies in its focus on individual responsibility for making these changes and the grid is an on-hand tool that questions current behaviour”.
“One of the greatest challenges facing people today is to actively change behaviours that are unwanted or the individual no longer values”.
“The difference between MyCube and other development programs is that the workshops and execution of the MyCube methodology is presented through experiential learning which makes it fun, engaging, informative and practical”, says Barty.
“In life, particularly in the workplace, there is pressure to perform and many people ask the question, how do we change the way we behave to help us be more effective?
“There are many people and many theories that will tell us who we are, but when it comes to changing our behaviour we need a framework that we can work with ourselves and MyCube is such a framework”.
According to Barty it helps you look at your own behaviours and change the ones you don’t like or no longer value.
“When you change the behaviours you don’t value, you become more real and content and this helps your relationships, enabling you to be more fulfilled and productive”.
“Everyday when we take time to think about what we do with our time and the choices we make and write them down, this becomes the first step to changing the way we behave”.
For further information visit www.mycube4change.co.za.
ENDS
Notes to the Editor:
What is MyCube? – a behaviourial change tool that increases the chance of success when behaviourial change is required.
How do I learn about MyCube? – participate in the next MyCube workshop see the website for one in your area.
What are the costs? – R1000 (excl VAT) – for a WriteChoice Journal, a full-day course, weekly email coaching process to behaviourial change and code-access to the website for additional support material
When is the next course? - the first MyCube course of 2009 will take place on Thursday 22 January
How to book for a MyCube course – call Kim Barty on 083 630 6861 or visit the website.
Why do New Year’s Resolutions Fai?l (from Aristotle, your personal mentor www.aristotle.co.nz):
1. Your resolution is about ‘not doing’ something.
It is said that we create more of what we put our attention on. Resolutions focus on stopping something.
2. Your resolutions aren’t written down or captured
Many resolutions are forgotten the next day or the week after because they are not written down or recorded in any way.
3. You’re trying to eat an elephant in one bite.
Often people take on an ‘elephant-sized goal’, feel overwhelmed and then don’t even start.
4. You check on your resolutions once a year.
Some people only think about their goals on New Year’s Eve and never.
5. You don’t really want to succeed.
Lots of people choose ‘me too’ goals that aren’t really important to them and don’t fire them up.
6. You’ve got no accountability – it’s just you and your resolution!
Nothing happens if you don’t do what you resolve to. Most people perform better when they are accountable to someone or they have a consequence for non-performance.
7. You give up at the first hurdle.
As well as unexpected assistance and lucky breaks, you can expect the odd obstacle and set back along the way to your goal.
8. What’s the hidden bonus in failing?
Very often we have a hidden payoff in staying the way we are. If you keep setting a goal or resolution that you then give up on, it’s worth looking at what you gain by staying the way you are now or what you might lose by changing.
9. You don’t value your promises to yourself.
Success is built on keeping your promises to yourself [and to others]. Start with yourself.
Prepared by: Trojan Horse on behalf of MyCube
www.trojanhorse.co.za
Contact: Kim Barty (083 630 6861)
