Keep Your Resolutions
Gail Allen
January 2017
The start of a new year is the perfect time to make changes to your life. To achieve the things you always wanted. January 1 is the first day of the rest of your life, along with similar sentiments. And many people take this seriously and each year make resolutions to change themselves for the better.
In principle there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, it is a good thing to evaluate yourself and your life, and find out what is good in your life that you want to continue, or, even do more of, and what isn't, so that you can eliminate it or at least cut down on it.
And yet, most of people probably know this only too well, by February, most of these noble resolutions have fallen through and become reminders of failure rather than the incentive to do better as they were meant to be. So why do we make them anyway?
Because they represent hope. The hope that this year we will be able to do better and that we will finally reach our dreams and fulfill our potential. And as I said above; this is not a bad thing. The bad thing is that we do not, in fact, follow through on these resolutions and they instead become regrets and weigh our conscience down with their constant "you should." And that is exactly where the problem lies. We make resolutions based on what we should do, and not what we want to do.
We know we should lose weight and live more healthily, but do we truly want to? Truly, deeply, keenly? For some people, yes, they do, and they would be the people able to keep this resolution, and indeed therefore also the people who should make it. But, in general, what we need to do is to look less at what what we should be doing, and more at what we want.
Another flaw in the system which often leads to failed resolutions is the focus on the final result. That is certainly a great motivational factor and should not be forgotten, but the part more at risk of being forgotten, is the "how to get there." Starting out on a journey towards a set goal without any idea of how to get there is almost bound to end in failure. So, for a resolution to be successful, we have to look not only at the result itself, but also at how we mean to attain that.
Which brings me to the next point, which is: is it actually realistic? This is another point where many resolutions fail, because they are simply too big. A new year is a new page in the book, but it is not whole new volume by a different author. For resolutions to be successful, they must be realistic. It is better to make a small resolution and keep it, than to make a huge and glorious one that cannot be sustained past the two first weeks. Making a habit takes time, and you should allow yourself that time. Do not try to tackle everything at once.
In conclusion, the three things most important to making and keeping your new years resolutions are:
Good luck with your resolutions!
The start of a new year is the perfect time to make changes to your life. To achieve the things you always wanted. January 1 is the first day of the rest of your life, along with similar sentiments. And many people take this seriously and each year make resolutions to change themselves for the better.
In principle there is nothing wrong with this. In fact, it is a good thing to evaluate yourself and your life, and find out what is good in your life that you want to continue, or, even do more of, and what isn't, so that you can eliminate it or at least cut down on it.
And yet, most of people probably know this only too well, by February, most of these noble resolutions have fallen through and become reminders of failure rather than the incentive to do better as they were meant to be. So why do we make them anyway?
Because they represent hope. The hope that this year we will be able to do better and that we will finally reach our dreams and fulfill our potential. And as I said above; this is not a bad thing. The bad thing is that we do not, in fact, follow through on these resolutions and they instead become regrets and weigh our conscience down with their constant "you should." And that is exactly where the problem lies. We make resolutions based on what we should do, and not what we want to do.
We know we should lose weight and live more healthily, but do we truly want to? Truly, deeply, keenly? For some people, yes, they do, and they would be the people able to keep this resolution, and indeed therefore also the people who should make it. But, in general, what we need to do is to look less at what what we should be doing, and more at what we want.
Another flaw in the system which often leads to failed resolutions is the focus on the final result. That is certainly a great motivational factor and should not be forgotten, but the part more at risk of being forgotten, is the "how to get there." Starting out on a journey towards a set goal without any idea of how to get there is almost bound to end in failure. So, for a resolution to be successful, we have to look not only at the result itself, but also at how we mean to attain that.
Which brings me to the next point, which is: is it actually realistic? This is another point where many resolutions fail, because they are simply too big. A new year is a new page in the book, but it is not whole new volume by a different author. For resolutions to be successful, they must be realistic. It is better to make a small resolution and keep it, than to make a huge and glorious one that cannot be sustained past the two first weeks. Making a habit takes time, and you should allow yourself that time. Do not try to tackle everything at once.
In conclusion, the three things most important to making and keeping your new years resolutions are:
- Make it something you really want to achieve.
- Set a plan for how you want to achieve it.
- Keep your resolution reasonable and don't try to change too much at once.
Good luck with your resolutions!