好英语网你的新年计划为什么经常落空？
For the last four years, I’ve had the same resolution come January 1: I will not get distracted by texting or perusing apps on my smartphone; I will stay present, in the moment.
过去4年，我都会在1月1日制定相同的计划：我不能再被智能手机上的短信或各种app（手机小软件）分散精力；我要活在当下。
Of course — evident by the fact that I keep setting it — I’ve come to realise it will take more than a revered annual tradition to break my habit. And I’m not the only one.
当然，由于每年都制定相同的计划，我也终于意识到，除了这样一个制定新年计划的传统外，想要真正改变习惯，还需要采取更多措施。事实上，我这样的情况并非个例。
Many of us use the time before the New Year to set goals for ourselves that are difficult to keep, be it a promotion at work that never materialises, an exercise routine that proves too difficult to stick to come February, or a relationship goal that’s too obscure. In my case, I’d set a goal so difficult to measure that I’d probably feel like I failed even if I hadn’t. (To be completely honest, I’ve also skirted other resolutions involving my career and staying fit.)
很多人都会在新年前给自己制定一份难以完成的计划，包括永远无法实现的升职目标，连一个月都难以坚持的健身计划，或者建立模糊不清的人际关系。具体到我自己，我的目标难以衡量，所以即使我没有失败，也往往感觉自己已经失败了。（说实话，我还会有意回避职场和健身方面的目标。）
Don’t despair, you’re in good — or at least abundant — company. Research shows that only 8% of people who have made a New Year’s resolution were able to meet their goal, according to a study from the University of Scranton that was compiled by Statistic Brain.
别灰心，这样的情况不算坏事，至少不在少数。市场研究公司Statistic Brain汇编了斯克兰顿大学（University of Scranton）的一项研究后发现，只有8%的人能达成自己的新年计划。
“Right from the getgo [a resolution] has failure and procrastination built into it,” says Timothy Pychyl, associate professor of psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, in Canada, whose research focuses on procrastination.
"从制定计划开始，失败和拖延症就已经融入其中。" 专门研究拖延症的加拿大卡尔顿大学心理学副教授蒂莫西·皮奇尔（Timothy Pychyl）说。
Feelings of failure
失败感受
To be sure, people can benefit from setting goals during this time of year because of the advantages that come with sharing those resolutions with others (and then feeling obliged to at least try to meet them). But, in reality, New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to follow.
诚然，由于可以与他人分享（并因此感觉有责任努力达成目标），所以在这个时候设定目标也有好处。但实际上，新年计划是出了名的难以完成。
如果你果真重视新年计划，那就应该尽早开始
Part of the problem is that we often choose the most unrealistic goals as resolutions under the false assumption that we can just “be a completely different person” in the New Year, says psychotherapist Rachel Weinstein, co-director of the Portland, Maine-based Adulting School, which teaches personal and financial skills to millennial-aged clients. The problem is further exacerbated when we hear about the outsized goals that our friends and colleagues set during this time of year, along with the marketing messages around this cultural phenomenon.
心理学家蕾切尔·韦恩斯坦（Rachel Weinstein）表示，部分原因在于，我们往往会选择最难以实现的目标作为新年计划，想当然地认为自己能在新的一年"改头换面"。韦恩斯坦还是美国波特兰州成年学院（Adulting School）的联席院长，该院专门向"千禧一代"传授个人技能和理财技巧。当我们听到自己的朋友和同事都在这个时候制定了雄心勃勃的目标后，问题便会越发严重。而围绕这种文化氛围涌现的各种营销信息更是有害无利。
In reality, “changes happen in small steps over time,” Weinstein explains.
事实上，"改变都是日积月累的结果。"韦恩斯坦说。
For many of us, making New Year’s resolutions backfires in ways we don’t even realise, says Joseph Luciani, a psychologist who focuses on self-coaching techniques in Cresskill, New Jersey, in the US. After a few unsuccessful attempts to stick to the resolutions, we’re left with only a feeling of failure that makes it difficult to feel we are living up to our own intentions in other ways, he says.
专门研究自我辅导的美国心理学家约瑟夫·卢西亚尼（Joseph Luciani）表示，对很多人而言，制定新年计划都会以意想不到的方式适得其反。他说，在经过了几次失败的尝试后，我们会感到深深的挫败，很难再尝试其他方式。
“Holiday intentions are hollow intentions...we go from a gung-ho attitude to ‘this is too hard’,” he says. Ultimately, we end up feeling more discouraged from setting new goals later in the year.
"新年目标都很空洞……我们会很快从信心满满变成心灰意冷。"他说。这会最终导致我们更加气馁，甚至不敢为当年剩余的时间制定新目标。
Secrets of success
成功秘诀
If you’re serious about sticking to a goal in the New Year, start as soon as you can. Don’t wait for 1 Jan. Delaying serves as “a form of culturally-prescribed procrastination”, which means we feel good by describing our intended resolutions to whoever asks, but find it difficult to actually complete them in the New Year, Panych says. For example, purchase running shoes and go on short runs before fully committing to a resolution to run a marathon.
如果你真想在新的一年达成一个目标，那就要尽早开始。不要等到1月1日。皮奇尔表示，推迟计划就像"一种文化氛围促成的拖延症"。也就是说，我们都很热衷于在新年向别人夸耀自己的计划，但却发现很难完成。例如，买一双跑鞋，然后尝试几次短跑，再下定决心跑一场马拉松。
And be careful about telling friends before you’ve had success. Even without taking action toward a resolution, we can experience feelings of success by simply announcing our goals to complete them and showing off our ambition well before we’ve actually accomplished the goal, according to Panych’s research. “Sometimes, it’s the absolute worst thing you could do, to tell everyone, because it already gives you some kind of reward,” he says. “Present self-wins, future self-losses.”
在你取得成功之前，不要轻易把目标告诉朋友。皮奇尔说，即便没有为达成目标采取任何行动，只要对外宣布自己的目标，并彰显自己的雄心，就会让我们颇有成就感。"有时候，向所有人宣布自己的目标反而是最糟糕的事情，因为你已经从中获得了奖励。"他说，"眼前的满足换来的是日后的失败。"
Setting simpler goals
降低目标
It might seem like selling your goals short, but if you truly want to achieve a resolution, set one that’s easy to tackle from day one. Better yet, says Weinstein, find one you can scale up to a more difficult resolution.
如果你真的想实现自己的计划，那就应该从一开始就制定一项易于达成的目标——尽管这么做会让人感觉低估了自己的能力。韦恩斯坦认为，最好找到一个能够在现有基础上加大难度的目标。
For instance, adding a third day at the gym if you already work out twice a week. Success is more achievable and you’ll get the boost of self-esteem that will lead you to better follow through on more difficult goals. If a New Year’s resolution proves too easy, “there’s nothing wrong [with] adding a February addendum to the resolution,” she says.
例如，如果你已经能够每周去两次健身房，就可以把目标定为每周三次。这样就更容易取得成功，你也可以由此获得自尊，从而激励你更好地追求难度更大的目标。如果新年计划过于简单，"等到2月再修订目标也未尝不可。"她说。
But if — like me — you’ve failed in the past, offer yourself some forgiveness, and resolve to be more realistic once it’s time to set new intentions. Rather than sticking to the same resolution, try a different approach that can strengthen what Luciani calls the self-discipline muscle and provide a sense of satisfaction with even the smallest success.
但如果你像我一样之前有过失败的经历，那就应该原谅自己，等到需要制定新目标时更加脚踏实地。不能沿用原有的目标，而应该通过其他方法来加强卢西亚尼所谓的"自律肌肉"，借助哪怕最小的成功来获得一些满足感。
“Developing self-discipline is a process,” says Luciani. “The more you start to accumulate success the more you start to see yourself differently.”
"发展自律是一个过程。"卢西亚尼说，"你积累的成功越多，就越能以不同的视角审视自我。"