Resolution making time has arrived
Hello, there we go. We are getting into the last week of December with the new year staring into our eyes and guess what — besides the holidays, shopping, greetings and cheer, what are we also busy with? Making New Year resolutions.
Let’s take a peek into history to see when and why the New Year’s resolution tradition got started. The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. These promises could be considered the forerunners of our New Year’s resolutions.
New Year’s resolutions today are a mostly secular practice. Instead of making promises to the gods, most people make resolutions only to themselves, and focus purely on self-improvement (which is why resolutions seem so hard to follow).
According to recent research, while as many as 45 per cent of Americans say they usually make New Year’s resolutions, only eight per cent are successful in achieving their goals. But that dismal record probably won’t stop people from making resolutions anytime soon — after all, we’ve had about 4,000 years of practice.
Most common resolutions
Usually, the most common resolutions go as — lose weight and get fit, quit smoking, learn something new, eat healthier and diet, get out of debt and save money, spend more time with family, travel to new places, be less stressed, etc. The gyms and health clubs around the world have the highest business in the first week of January every year. They surely benefit from our resolutions.
It is interesting to study why New Year resolutions mostly fail. The universe wasn’t made in a day. So, don’t go for sweeping reforms. You’ll be more successful if you commit to modest, measurable improvements that might be achieved and maintained over time. Break big goals into smaller milestones, and consider setting goals throughout the year instead of grand gestures on January 1.
The company you keep matters. You’ll be more likely to attain your resolution goal if you connect with people who have already achieved it. Finding people, stories and situations that are similar to the goals you want to achieve brings a sense of familiarity to the goal, and that can be essential to sticking with your resolution. When you see people being successful at your goal, it helps you think, ‘If they can do it, I can do that too.”
Be kind to yourself. Before you set out after success, think about the potential barriers that might get in the way. You might get lazy, tired, forget, or be lured by another temptation. Then, identify contingency plans for how you will respond in those moments. If you do succumb to temptation, don’t make the failure big. Remind yourself, ‘A stumble may prevent a fall.’
Self-centred goals
One thing you will notice is that most resolutions are very selfcentred. If we link them to greater good, maybe our motivation to achieve them will be greater. What if we think that if we are healthy, we can do more for our family, work better, enjoy a greater quality of life, instead of just measuring health with our weight, looks and diet. Maybe all we need to do is broaden our horizon and change the way we look at things. When our perception will change, our situation will change too.
What if we keep a resolution to be happy. Happiness is such a wide and all-inclusive term. It includes physical, mental, emotional and financial well-being. What is even better about this resolution is that one cannot be happy alone. It has to be shared. You cannot be happy in isolation, without making others happy. One thinks of the well-being of others, because we all are connected in one way or the other and impact each other. This is what is needed in the world today. Be it people or countries, the problem is that we are becoming more and more self-centred. We need to be more considerate to the needs and feelings of others around us.
So, instead of making narrowminded resolutions, make them in a way that you definitely gain from achieving them, but more so, there is a bigger good. January 1 is not a sacrosanct day. Every day is as special. We can do good and intend to do good on any day. We can be healthy, happy, kind on any day and every day. Let’s not restrict happiness and health or kindness to a resolution or a date. As Oprah Winfrey has rightly said: “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”