New Year’s Resolutions – Making and Breaking Them
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Making a New Year’s resolution is a common tradition where a person undertakes a promise to fulfill an act of self-improvement or change an attitude or way of life to benefit others. It is not confined to any particular region and is a globally popular trait.
The end of the Great Depression saw many in the Western Hemisphere forming New Year’s resolutions probably as a way of hoping for better days in the face of much uncertainty. In fact, at the start of the 21st century, many Americans made common resolutions such as quitting smoking, dropping weight, taking up a hobby or activity and so on and actually went on to make a success of them.
Some of the most popular resolutions for the New Year include:
• Improving physical wellbeing by weight loss, eating healthy food, less alcohol, quitting smoking, exercising more etc.
• Improving mental wellbeing by being more social and cultivating a positive mindset
• Bettering finances by making investments and savings and reducing debts
• Acquiring additional qualifications and skills to improve career options
• Add another activity like learning a musical instrument, a foreign language,
baking and cooking, gardening etc. that adds to overall wellbeing
• Becoming more organized through time management and reducing stress levels
• Going on a holiday or indulging in more outdoor activity
• Volunteering at charities or in life-skill situations
• Increasing friends’ circle
• Making the effort to spend quality time with family
A University of Bristol study showed that nearly 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail because they are unrealistic goals, are either completely forgotten or not properly tracked. A University of Hertfordshire study that tracked over 5000 people through their attempts to achieve their resolutions found that many failed because they did not have a plan in place to achieve those resolutions which made them feel that they were attempting to climb tall mountains. Many also put too much focus on the downside in the event of not achieving their goals or simply fantasized about their goals without really getting down to them.
A large majority of those who achieved their targets said they achieved success by breaking their large goal into smaller ones and felt a greater sense of achievement at every step. Psychologists find that resolutions are more likely to succeed when broken into smaller, more time-based and measurable goals. Successful techniques for achieving resolutions revolve around a plan and sticking to it. It is one of the important things to remember.