Quit quitting your New Year’s Resolutions
It’s 2023. A new year feels like a fresh start, an opportunity to change bad habits and establish new, positive routines.
Did you make a New Year’s resolution? You’ve already made the switch to a better alternative to smoking – perhaps this year it was learning a new skill? Hitting the gym more? Prioritising your wellbeing?
Bonus question. Are you still sticking to your goals?
Don’t worry if you aren’t! According to a 2021 study around two thirds of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions within a month. The majority don’t make it past the first few weeks of January.
In fact a study by Strava in 2019 identified the second Friday in January as the day by which most people will have ditched their resolution. They dubbed it ‘Quitters Day’. The day by which the average person’s initial motivation dries up.
So what’s the secret to making it past ‘Quitters Day’ and sticking to a New Year’s resolution?
Top tips for keeping your resolution
1 Keep it realistic
When setting New Year’s resolutions it’s tempting to be over-ambitious. Your motivation is always high at the beginning but as time passes everyone’s drive begins to trail off. The trick is to ladder up to ambitious resolutions through short and medium term goals.
2 Choose a specific goal
General resolutions, to ‘take better care of yourself’ for example or to ‘be more vegetarian’ are too abstract. It’s impossible to define success, so impossible to stick to. Be as specific as possible. For example ‘visit the gym three days a week’ or ‘eat at least one vegetarian dinner per week’.
3 Limited your resolutions
With the vast majority of people being unable to stick to one resolution, you’ve little chance of keeping multiple resolutions. Focus on one thing and you’ll have a much better chance of sticking to it.
4 Make a plan
Resolutions plucked out of the air at 11.59pm on New Year’s Eve are unlikely to last until the next day, let alone to Quitters Day. Experts agree that taking time to choose a resolution, and thinking through the challenges you will face keeping it helps
5 In with the new
Doing something new is easier than stopping something you already do. For example ‘going for one long walk a week’ rather than ‘stop eating cakes and sweets’. This is why so many people struggle to switch away from smoking until they use IQOS*. Success lies in focussing on a new activity rather than denying yourself something.
6 Buddy up
Making a resolution with a friend means you’re both more likely to stick to it. This simply down to human nature. Neither of you will want to let the other down. But if you can’t join a friend in the resolution they’ve made, you can be there to support them, for example if they have resolved to stop smoking and you’ve already left smoking behind.
If you have friends who have resolved to make better health choices in 2023, but aren’t ready to quit nicotine for good, you could introduce them to IQOS. It worked for you and as an IQOS Club member, when you refer a smoker friend to IQOS, it’s not just them you can help. You can help yourself too!
That’s because for every referral you make you can earn 500 IQOS CLUB points plus a voucher to spend at IQOS.com. The value of the voucher you can earn depends on your CLUB status.
Membership tier |
Referral voucher |
IQOS CLUB points |
Silver |
£30 |
500 |
Gold |
£40 |
500 |
Platinum |
£50 |
500 |
There’s no limit to the number of friends you can refer or rewards you can earn. Do your friends, and yourself, a favour. Login to your account and if you have smoker friends that have told you they’re ready to make a change, share your unique referral code to get them started.
Whether you’ve made your own resolution, or you intend to help a friend keep theirs, Happy New Year from everyone at IQOS CLUB.
*There are more than 12.7 million IQOS users globally who use IQOS. PMI Financials or estimates (excluding Russia and Ukraine), IQOS user panels and PMI Market Research. Status as of March 2022. IQOS users who have completely quit cigarettes and for whom PMI HeatSticks represent at least 70% of their past 7-day heated tobacco consumption.
