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motivation
You are more motivated on the first of January.
A 2014 study found that people seek more 'fresh start' opportunities during temporal landmarks like birthdays or new years.
Temporal landmarks allow you to mentally categorize your life into distinct chapters. By isolating a past version of yourself from the current one, you feel more capable of pursuing new goals. These moments provide a psychological break that helps you relegate old failures to the past.
We crave a clean slate to hide our history from ourselves.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Dai, Milkman, and Riis, 2014, Management Science
- What the check found
- The 2014 paper 'The Fresh Start Effect' by Dai, Milkman, and Riis in Management Science accurately describes the phenomenon cited in the claim.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.