4 Steps to Crush a New Year's Resolution
Or any new habit.
In a short read, you'll know.
Unlock hard change with cause-chaining.
Do you have goals ?
Or a hard change you wish to implement.
Something not easy, that would make your life better.
You want to change a habit, and it's hard.
Get a new one, remove a bad one. Or keep a New Year's Resolution ?
Here's how to guarantee you'll do it.
I've created a technique I call "cause-chaining".
I often use it with clients to help them create change in their lives.
Unlock hard change.
As I am talking to you, I am in a cause-chaining program right now. (Going good so far)
I have educated myself a lot on the topic of habits
And no one does it quite this way. So if nothing worked, do yourself a favor : Read this.
It's something I usually have people pay premium prices to learn about.
And here you'll get to learn about it for free.
⚠️ Disclaimer ⚠️ I can't guarantee step 3 to work well for chemical addictions such as smoking. Ask me if you got a doubt but other addictions should go fine.
Many people say they have New Year's resolutions.
"New year new me"
Yet, very very few manage to keep them.
I know, We're not the 1st of January anymore. Your time is precious, don't waste it waiting for 2026. Start now instead. It's not too late.
What matters to you ? Do you have objectives ?
What would you like to crush ?
Take a moment to remember why you want to achieve this.
Why it matters.
.
.
.
This short read will tell you exactly how I would strengthen your New Year's resolution to make it nearly impossible for you to fail if you follow the instructions.
At the end of reading this, you will have new tools to help you crush 2025 for yourself.
In 4 steps.
STEP 1 : Now
● a ) Take a pen and journal, (or a good note-taking software) and ceremonially write down what you want to achieve.
● b ) In the journal, plan what you're gonna do from step 2, and when.
STEP 2 : Next days
Is there anything that you have done in the past that helps you guarantee that you will keep a habit for a few days ?
This is the goal of STEP 2. To keep the habit long enough that we have the time to do the deeper inner work to unlock that habit forever (until you'd like to stop if you ever do).
Things that work well for me are :
( If in your identity you perceive yourself as someone that just crushes new habits. And can do anything they set their minds to first try. Then you will have a much easier time building new habits. But that's not the case of the vast majority of people. So let's build that belief in you by... crushing new habits every time. )
● Environment editing. This is commonly referred to in habits-building books as one of the strongest, most efficient things to create your habit you can do. The idea is for you to change your environment so that you make it less natural for you to do something you do not want to do and/or more natural for you to do something you'd like to start doing more. Here are 3 types of environmen editing :
● ◻️ Type 1 : Physical. For example :
● Want to eat better ? Make sure that your house is full of healthy foods, so that you Can go out and buy a snack, but it would bring more friction. Especially if you are not used to going out and buying one. Such that you will "magically" find yourself healthier.
● Pro tip : Buy food after having eaten. To make it easier for you to make the choices that are good for you as opposed to cravings when you are buying food...
● Want to exercise more ? Have your exercise clothes and shoes in a special place in sight easy to take every time. So that you do not have to search for them if you want to decide to exercise. Here, we reduce friction.
● Want to not play videogames as much for a few days ? Put the console in a hard-to-reach place.
● ◻️ Type 2 : Virtual (phone, computer, devices). Same as physical, but for your virtual environment, examples :
● Eg : I do that a lot, it works very well : turning on parental control. Ban the websites/app that you do not want to spend time on. For that, go to your settings to parental control, ban the websites. Then, ask someone you trust to pick and write down the parental control code, without telling you what it is. So that now, even if you want to go on YouTube, you can't. Or you'd have to use another device which adds friction. In case of need that website or app or what you just banned, you can just ask that person to write the code for you while you are not watching, (or send it to you by messages). This way, you can also set a daily limit of time on Instagram, X, linkedin or TikTok for example.
● Eg : De-cluttering your home screen or taskbar, to show the software you would want to use more often first, and making it harder to get to the ones that you'd like not to get to. On my taskbar, I got : the Internet, a great note-taking app, programming, and music.
● More ... You can change your background screen to a message that you want to be reminded to yourself...
● ◻️ Type 3 : Social. This one is incredibly strong. Nearly a must to start a habit.
● Manufacture social pressure for yourself. Accountability. And motivation in the low days. For example, tell a friend that you will send them a message, or a pic every time you go out for a workout. And maybe they do the same for towards you. 🎩
● ◻️ Woop (a few-minutes technique to do in advance)
● A research-backed technique to make yourself more likely to do what you plan to do. Here is how it works :
● Simply write down what you want to achieve.
● Now write down how you would feel when you'd achieve that.
● Take a moment to imagine and feel how you would feel when you achieve it.
● Now if you just stop here, you might actually be shooting yourself in the foot by giving your brain the impression that the task has been done already, so no need to do it... But here is what makes it super powerful :
● Simply write down what could make you fail :
● Examples : "I can get distracted", or "I can want to do something else", or "I can want to do the thing I'm not supposed to do..." ~ write it with your own words
● Then, again, take a few seconds to imagine and feel that moment, when you are on the border of making a bad decision or when you notice that you are having a behavior that is not best for you < 3
● Then, write down what you would do in a sentence in case one of the earlier things happen, like : If x, then y.
● Eg : "If I want to do something else, I take a deep breath, put a timer, and work on that task for 12 more minutes, then, celebrate and feel a bit good about it in my head" or "If I notice I want to get back to sleep, I stop thinking, put one foot out of bed and the rest of my body swiftly to go to the shower room, and I lock the door there (ready to take a shower), then I celebrate a bit in my head"...
● PS : Find what motivates you most.
● And, once again, take a moment to imagine, "manifest" the situation, and what you would instantly do.
● Note : When doing that, you are creating a neural pathway between the felt situation and the reaction. Directly linking these two together. Then, each time you do the behavior as imagined and feel good about it, you strengthen the pathway, making it more of a habit.
● If you want to keep that in mind, you can download the WOOP app, it's free, it just guides you through that process again.
● If you want to go even stronger because you would need more than a WOOP, you can do what I call an eWoop, or extended WOOP. It's a normal one, you just add, writing and imagining what would happen if you failed, how you would feel... And write and imagine what would happen every time you successfully do what you want to achieve. I rather strongly believe that this will make the behavioral connections richer and stronger. I would guess that you have that belief as well.
● ◻️ Good sleep, good food, good oxygen and overall good physiology help me choose what is good easier
● ◻️ Proxy habits. For example : Instead of saying that you'll go run, you make the objective : to put your running clothes on and go outside your home with them. Or instead of saying you'll exercise for 1 hour, you say that you'll do 1 burpee per day. And that's it, if you've done that, you've won. (Now once you've done one, you might want to do a few more)
● ◻️ Bonus : habit replacement. If you are trying to remove a habit instead of creating one : Replace the benefits of the old habits with a new, healthier habit that replaces most benefits of the old one, and adds new ones. For example, many people have successfully quit smoking by replacing it with running. When they crave. They run. (though one needs a free schedule for that).
● ◻️ Personalized : you might have ideas of other things that you know work for yourself in terms of ensuring that you do something. Pick that 👌
● Environment editing. This is commonly referred to in habits-building books as one of the strongest, most efficient things to create your habit you can do. The idea is for you to change your environment so that you make it less natural for you to do something you do not want to do and/or more natural for you to do something you'd like to start doing more. Here are 3 types of environmen editing :
● ◻️ Type 1 : Physical. For example :
● Want to eat better ? Make sure that your house is full of healthy foods, so that you Can go out and buy a snack, but it would bring more friction. Especially if you are not used to going out and buying one. Such that you will "magically" find yourself healthier.
● Pro tip : Buy food after having eaten. To make it easier for you to make the choices that are good for you as opposed to cravings when you are buying food...
● Want to exercise more ? Have your exercise clothes and shoes in a special place in sight easy to take every time. So that you do not have to search for them if you want to decide to exercise. Here, we reduce friction.
● Want to not play videogames as much for a few days ? Put the console in a hard-to-reach place.
● ◻️ Type 2 : Virtual (phone, computer, devices). Same as physical, but for your virtual environment, examples :
● Eg : I do that a lot, it works very well : turning on parental control. Ban the websites/app that you do not want to spend time on. For that, go to your settings to parental control, ban the websites. Then, ask someone you trust to pick and write down the parental control code, without telling you what it is. So that now, even if you want to go on YouTube, you can't. Or you'd have to use another device which adds friction. In case of need that website or app or what you just banned, you can just ask that person to write the code for you while you are not watching, (or send it to you by messages). This way, you can also set a daily limit of time on Instagram, X, linkedin or TikTok for example.
● Eg : De-cluttering your home screen or taskbar, to show the software you would want to use more often first, and making it harder to get to the ones that you'd like not to get to. On my taskbar, I got : the Internet, a great note-taking app, programming, and music.
● More ... You can change your background screen to a message that you want to be reminded to yourself...
● ◻️ Type 3 : Social. This one is incredibly strong. Nearly a must to start a habit.
● Manufacture social pressure for yourself. Accountability. And motivation in the low days. For example, tell a friend that you will send them a message, or a pic every time you go out for a workout. And maybe they do the same for towards you. 🎩
● ◻️ Woop (a few-minutes technique to do in advance)
● A research-backed technique to make yourself more likely to do what you plan to do. Here is how it works :
● Simply write down what you want to achieve.
● Now write down how you would feel when you'd achieve that.
● Take a moment to imagine and feel how you would feel when you achieve it.
● Now if you just stop here, you might actually be shooting yourself in the foot by giving your brain the impression that the task has been done already, so no need to do it... But here is what makes it super powerful :
● Simply write down what could make you fail :
● Examples : "I can get distracted", or "I can want to do something else", or "I can want to do the thing I'm not supposed to do..." ~ write it with your own words
● Then, again, take a few seconds to imagine and feel that moment, when you are on the border of making a bad decision or when you notice that you are having a behavior that is not best for you < 3
● Then, write down what you would do in a sentence in case one of the earlier things happen, like : If x, then y.
● Eg : "If I want to do something else, I take a deep breath, put a timer, and work on that task for 12 more minutes, then, celebrate and feel a bit good about it in my head" or "If I notice I want to get back to sleep, I stop thinking, put one foot out of bed and the rest of my body swiftly to go to the shower room, and I lock the door there (ready to take a shower), then I celebrate a bit in my head"...
● PS : Find what motivates you most.
● And, once again, take a moment to imagine, "manifest" the situation, and what you would instantly do.
● Note : When doing that, you are creating a neural pathway between the felt situation and the reaction. Directly linking these two together. Then, each time you do the behavior as imagined and feel good about it, you strengthen the pathway, making it more of a habit.
● If you want to keep that in mind, you can download the WOOP app, it's free, it just guides you through that process again.
● If you want to go even stronger because you would need more than a WOOP, you can do what I call an eWoop, or extended WOOP. It's a normal one, you just add, writing and imagining what would happen if you failed, how you would feel... And write and imagine what would happen every time you successfully do what you want to achieve. I rather strongly believe that this will make the behavioral connections richer and stronger. I would guess that you have that belief as well.
● ◻️ Good sleep, good food, good oxygen and overall good physiology help me choose what is good easier
● ◻️ Proxy habits. For example : Instead of saying that you'll go run, you make the objective : to put your running clothes on and go outside your home with them. Or instead of saying you'll exercise for 1 hour, you say that you'll do 1 burpee per day. And that's it, if you've done that, you've won. (Now once you've done one, you might want to do a few more)
● ◻️ Bonus : habit replacement. If you are trying to remove a habit instead of creating one : Replace the benefits of the old habits with a new, healthier habit that replaces most benefits of the old one, and adds new ones. For example, many people have successfully quit smoking by replacing it with running. When they crave. They run. (though one needs a free schedule for that).
● ◻️ Personalized : you might have ideas of other things that you know work for yourself in terms of ensuring that you do something. Pick that 👌
Now pick 2 to 5 of the points above, (the ones that you think would help you most)
The previous step (step 2) was about helping yourself last longer than usual. In the order of days, or more if you crush it, congratulations!
Now, for the long run :
STEP 3 : Next months
The Challenge :
Sticking with step 2 of habit change can feel easier, but it doesn’t guarantee long-term success. The reason? A part of you may resist the change because it feels uncomfortable or painful.
Why You Resist :
● Discomfort : New habits can feel cold, painful, or require more effort than your current habits.
● Inner Conflict : You may find yourself torn between wanting to adopt a new habit and the comfort of your old one. For example:
● Desire to Exercise : "I want to go running for my health" vs. "But it’s cold outside, and I’m cozy on the couch."
● Desire to Eat Healthily : "I want to eat healthy foods to feel better" vs. "But I really want that delicious pizza right now."
● These conflicts create mental pain, making it harder to choose what’s best for you. When you feel bad, the temptation to indulge in old habits increases, even if they ultimately lead to more discomfort.
The Cycle of Procrastination:
I’ve experienced this myself. In high school, I would procrastinate on my schoolwork, feel guilty, and then procrastinate more to escape that guilt. This cycle of avoidance only added to my stress.The solution
The solution to this is arguably by far the most important point of this article.Not only it will help you keep a change long term. But solving inner conflicts also has a plethora of benefits such as more inner peace, specific problem solving, unlocking a much higher propensity to reaching your goals, for any goal plagued by discreet inner conflicts (nearly all goals).
Here it is :
Understand all conflicting parts. And accept their motivations.
Action Steps :
● Identify Conflicting Parts : Write down the parts of yourself that are in conflict regarding the change you want in your life.
● Understand their Motivations : For each part, ask yourself: What does this part want for me? How is it trying to help ? Unless you have serious brain damage, always remember that all parts of you stem from what you want inside, what is deeply in your evolutionary interest"
● The key 🔑 : If you struggle to accept one part, identify what resists this acceptance and work on accepting that new part first. Repeat this process as needed.
How to know when you are doing it well :
You feel instant, deep relief when you have accepted a part of you that you previously couldn't.
It feels natural and not forced.
The one thing I do not want you to do is to try this, not feel the relief and get discouraged because I believe that you will miss out on one of the best things you could do for yourself. One of the best things in psychology.
That is why I beg you. If you try and don't make it. Come ask. Don't miss out on this, please.
And if you manage to make it first try, congratulations ! You'll be the first person that I have met that managed to do this without being guided through the exercise at first.
I have sent this article to a select few I appreciate.
I hoped this helped as it could.
If you have gotten it, you got my WhatsApp number.
Cast me your questions, I'll answer.
Take care, crush it.
Happy new year :)
Self-peace, health, happiness, self-love.
Timothée.