Mid Year Resolutions

Today could the perfect day to turn over a new leaf, acquire a new skill and step forward to a bright new future. Apparently, May 18 is the ideal time of year to make that New Year resolution you would not have kept if you had made it on January 1.

Psychologists say good resolutions stand a better chance when the sun is in the ascendence and the feelgood factor is on the increase.

All the auguries fit the formula M x O + Bh (H+R) x S, where M is for motivation, O for opportunity, Bh for proximity to a bank/public holiday, H for the increasing hours of daylight, R for reflection time and S, naturally, for success. It all adds up to May 18, according to psychologist Cliff Arnall.

Mr Arnall's formula is in the great tradition of wacky science. Experts have, in recent years, formulated the equation behind the perfect biscuit for dunking in tea; manipulated the mathematics of the ideal fried potato chip; explored the ideal geometry for stone-skimming across a pond; calculated the relative flatness of pancakes and the plains of Kansas; and even the established the variables in the formula for the perfect joke.

But behind the merry math ematics of good resolution, there is a serious purpose.
Mr Arnall is a lecturer in the department of lifelong learning at Cardiff University. Earlier this year he calculated that New Year resolutions were a bad idea because New Year's Day marked a decline for most people, who reached a nadir on January 24 - his mathematical model candidate for the most depressing day of the year.

May 18, however, marked a moment of maximum opportunity.

"It is really about encouraging people, motivating people. In terms of nature, you've got renewal, trees, flowers, longer hours, increasing energy.

"This is a really good time to take an excellent decision to really boost your confidence," he said.
However, there is no body of scientific evidence to back up the theory. Mr Arnall said he derived his motivational formula after observing people attending his workshops on those intangible topics of success, happiness and stress. "I see this on a day to day basis, and the difference it can make to people's lives," he said.

"There is no doubt at all that for people who are making decisions because they want to - rather than because of an external reason such as January 1 - it makes better sense. They are ready to make the change because they want to."