Sticking with the wrong goal can lead to stress, some scientists say. Could abandoning or modifying a goal be healthier?
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January is often a time to take stock. New year’s resolutions roll into back-to-work blues and a determination that this year will be different, somehow. A reset might be just the tonic, according to some scientists, with a recent study showing that giving up on a goal, or even just modifying it, could lead to a happier experience.
“That decision to let something go can be a tricky one,” says Hugh Riddell, a lecturer at the Curtin University School of Population Health, and lead author of the study, published in November. “But when people make that decision, it can often have positive implications for a person’s well-being.”