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The concept of New Year Eve is a reflection on self improvement. It is a time of sober reflection on the past, but more importantly, looking forward to the coming year.
Reflections on the changes we want or need to make and following through the changes become very important on this Eve. So on this Eve we resolve to change certain habits and adopt more desirable ones.
New Year resolutions range among the following – weight loss, saving money, quitting smoking and alcohol, getting better education, working hard to eating the right food, getting fit, stress reduction, being more involved with helping others and spending more time with family.
Many New Year resolutions have been made and continue to be made which should have made us perfect beings. But the question is how many people live up to their New Year resolutions, and whether or not the New Year resolutions actually make us better?
Being better depends on keeping the resolutions. But it is often very difficult to keep up the resolutions as revealed in a study by Prof. Richard Wiseman who had come up with different rules for gents and ladies being successful in their resolutions. The success rates were put at 22% to 12% for men and women respectively. This means that men achieved their resolution when they set goals, while women were about 10 per cent more likely to succeed when they were encouraged to persist in the face of setbacks.
“Men may be more likely to adopt a macho attitude and have unrealistic expectations, and so simple goal setting helps them achieve more”, Prof Wiseman said.
“Likewise, women might be reluctant to tell others about their resolutions, and so benefit more from the social support provided by friends and family once they have made their goals public”.
General tips for success
• Make only one resolution. The chances of success are greater when people channel their energy into changing just one aspect of their behaviour.
• Plan ahead. Don’t wait until New Year’s Eve to make an on the spur of the moment resolution. Instead, take some time to reflect upon what you really want to achieve.
• Avoid repeating previous resolutions, which can set you up for frustration and disappointment. Choose something new, or approach an old problem in a new way.
• Be specific. Think through exactly what you are going to do, where you are going to do it, and at what time. Vague plans fail.
• Make it personal. Think about what you really want out of life, such as finishing that novel, or learning to play an instrument, rather than just losing weight and getting to the gym.
Tips for men
• Focus on creating SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based.
For example, instead of thinking “I want to find a new job” focus on creating bite-sized, measurable goals for each week, such as rewriting your CV and then applying for one new job every two weeks.
Map out the step-by-step mini-goals that will slowly but surely take you to where you want to be, make a note of them in a diary, and stick to the plan.
• Focus on how much better life will be for you, and those around you, when you achieve your resolution. For example, if you want to quit smoking, make a list of the benefits of giving up, and place it somewhere prominent in your house.
If you want to motivate yourself to go to the gym, find a photograph of a fitness model that appeals to you, and put it in a place where you will see it each day.
Tips for women
• Women who keep their New Year’s resolution to themselves make it too easy to forget. Instead, go public.
For example, write down your resolution on a large sheet of paper, sign it, and place it somewhere prominent in your house. Tell your friends, family and colleagues and ask them to provide you with helpful nudges to assist you in achieving your goal.
• Be persistent. New habits take time to learn, and once in a while you will slip up. People on diets might suddenly give in to temptation, or those trying to exercise more might not find the time to go to the gym for a week.
Remember that everyone messes up from time to time. Don’t blame yourself if you falter, or allow the experience to make you give up.
The importance of making New Year Resolutions
Self improvement brings about individual and communal change and development. Lets see it in this light, if I resolve to quit smoking and you resolve to reduce or quit alcoholic intake, and lots of people do same, we are a step towards development. We are more forced and its success will further encourage us to taking more important resolutions and challenges to better things.
Our country has been the subject of discussion on different continents based on corruption, despite the fact we are not the only corrupt nation in the world. The change we need is a factor of you and I on our resolutions. If the powers that be like every one of resolve to change the bad things in them be better – bribery and corruption, money laundering, cheating, greed, fitting of square pegs into round holes, then I think the change lots of us desire will come knocking on our doors. Obama says we are the change we need. This change will not come from outside, it is already in us. If we follow the suggested tips on achieving our resolutions, we are set to change our individual and national image. Then the mouths that told of our despicable ways will turn to sing our glory.
Let us make this New Year resolution one with a difference and become the change we need. If I can do it and you also do it, then we can. This comes up in this very simple mathematical calculation/equation
(Yes, I can) + (Yes, You can)
Common factors = Yes and can
Then, I + You = We
Therefore (Yes, I can) + (Yes, You can) = Yes, We can
 References:
Have a wonderful New Year ahead
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