Wednesday, 01 January 2014 16:59

New Year Resolutions Featured

Written by
Rate this item
(0 votes)

I want to wish you a very Happy New Year and wish this year will bring all your dreams and goals into fruition. Life is amazing and this time of the year is the most crowded period I have ever observed where everyone is on the move with lots of people motivated to make that dream come

true. I just went online to register for my Thursday aero biking class and I was not too surprised to find out that I have no space as it is fully booked. This is as a result of people who made New Year resolutions. They are running with it now but by February most of them fall on the way side and dump their New Year resolution. Some don't even remember where they left it. Everyone has a mental list of habits they would like to change, and the New Year seems like a perfect time to start. "New Year, new you" is a phrase you will see repeated in print. Long ago I have decided that my New Year is my birthday and really I don't make any resolution. I build a life on character and that is what matters most to me.

You know that I love statistics so here we go. The statistics are bleak: only 8% of people who make New Year's resolutions stick to them, and those who don't usually abandon them after just one week. Over the years making New Year resolution has become a ritual. It is part of the ceremony that graces the festive season. People want to give up on many bad habits so they pledge their commitment in giving up which is not a bad idea. It is an annual attempt to start afresh and turn over a new leaf. But making resolutions is a near pointless exercise, psychologists say. We break them, become dispirited in the process and finally more despondent than we were before.

Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, who led the analysis, said he and his team had asked 700 people about their strategies for achieving New Year resolutions. Their goals ranged from losing weight or giving up smoking to gaining a qualification or starting a better relationship. Of the 78% who failed, many had focused on the downside of not achieving the goals; they had suppressed their cravings, fantasised about being successful, and adopted a role model or relied on willpower alone.

We began 2014 with the best of intentions, vowing to ditch our bad habits for good. Ten days later the last traces of willpower will begin to be fading away. After ten days most people will give up their New Year's resolutions - just nine days after they were made. Three-quarters of 3,000 British adults surveyed after January 10 in 2012 admitted they were no longer confident they would stick to their promises for the rest of the month. The most popular resolutions this year related to physical and emotional wellbeing, with seven out of ten joining a gym or going jogging in two weeks. Six out of ten said they were trying to eat more healthily or lose weight. Now you can see why I am unable to book my aero biking class for Thursday, it falls within the ten days active period.

Optimism, then, isn't always constructive. If we're too positive, we condemn ourselves to fail. Many backsliders relapse because they have overestimated their own abilities, underestimated the time and effort involved in staying the course, or have an exaggerated view of the effect that the change would have on their lives. We underestimate these fluctuations in self-control and motivation. Naturally, if you set more realistic goals, you are more likely to succeed. People with more modest expectations were far likelier to complete a twelve-week-long exercise course. And once we've set goals, we're most likely to reach them by creating a firm plan. The theory of implementation intentions maintains that we have a better chance of sticking to a goal if we think about contingencies in advance and devise a direct, automatic response to each of them. It's harder to break a specific commitment then a nonspecific one.

Why do we fail in accomplishing our New Year's Resolutions? I believe it is because we set out unrealistic goals which will ultimately fail. We refuse to look at the factors against our effort to accomplish these goals and find ways in dealing with these factors. We think because we have made that resolution it then has the power to succeed. We forget that our habits and character is a major factor in ensuring we either fail or succeed. The main issue here is not about the resolution but about our habits and characters. By and large, a New Year's resolution is a promise to start a good habit or to kick a bad one on the first day of the year. I don't need New Year to do this; I do it all year round so it becomes my natural habit. With this it is a lifestyle so there will be no need for New Year's resolution. What you need is to create the habit of setting goals and sticking to them all year round so it becomes your lifestyle. With this the struggle is for a long time until you become a master.

In setting goals you have to break them in bits so they are not unrealistic to achieve. The journey for a thousand miles starts with a step. You need to take that tiny step. Goal-setting is more than making a wish and hoping it will come true. It's proven to be effective for making real changes in life. To set and achieve your goal, research shows it helps to follow this process.

  1. Recognize what you need to change.
  2. Establish a goal.
  3. Begin a goal-directed activity.
  4. Track your progress
  5. Reward yourself.

Sounds simple, right? So why do January's good intentions often end up discarded by March? Many goals start out being too difficult and too general. That's a set up for failure. You need to be specific in your goal setting. Choose a precise, positive goal for a short period of time. Make it challenging enough to motivate you, without being beyond your capabilities. Make 2014 rewarding and stop making the same mistake every January. Insanity is doing things the same way but expecting a different result. I wish you the best for 2014 and once again Happy New Year.

Jefferson O Imgbi

18306 comments

  • Comment Link jordan sneakers Monday, 19 December 2022 09:28 posted by jordan sneakers

    I precisely had to thank you very much all over again. I'm not certain the things that I might have done without the actual advice revealed by you relating to such subject matter. It has been a real horrifying problem in my view, nevertheless taking a look at this specialised strategy you managed that forced me to weep for happiness. I'm grateful for this help and as well , wish you find out what a great job you were putting in educating most people thru your site. I know that you have never come across any of us.

  • Comment Link kd 12 Monday, 19 December 2022 08:24 posted by kd 12

    I am also writing to make you be aware of of the wonderful experience my friend's child went through checking your web site. She came to find lots of issues, not to mention what it's like to have a very effective helping mood to have the rest effortlessly have an understanding of several specialized subject matter. You really did more than visitors' desires. Thanks for rendering these invaluable, safe, edifying as well as unique thoughts on the topic to Ethel.

  • Comment Link Proposal cover page Word Monday, 19 December 2022 07:30 posted by Proposal cover page Word

    Is anyone able to recommend good Stonemasons and Drystone Wallers B2B Marketing List? Thank you ?

  • Comment Link Proposal cover page Word Monday, 19 December 2022 07:26 posted by Proposal cover page Word

    each time i used to read smaller articles which also clear their motive,and that is also happening with this paragraph which I amreading now.

  • Comment Link golden goose outlet Sunday, 18 December 2022 16:37 posted by golden goose outlet

    I wish to get across my gratitude for your kindness giving support to those who absolutely need guidance on this important content. Your special commitment to getting the message throughout became pretty powerful and has empowered women like me to achieve their goals. This valuable report indicates a lot a person like me and further more to my office workers. Thank you; from all of us.

  • Comment Link curry 6 Sunday, 18 December 2022 16:28 posted by curry 6

    Thank you a lot for providing individuals with an extraordinarily brilliant possiblity to read from here. It really is so pleasing and also stuffed with a good time for me personally and my office co-workers to visit your web site particularly three times per week to study the newest items you will have. Not to mention, I am also always amazed concerning the remarkable creative concepts you serve. Some 2 ideas in this posting are completely the most beneficial I've had.

  • Comment Link adidas yeezy Sunday, 18 December 2022 09:55 posted by adidas yeezy

    I in addition to my guys happened to be digesting the good recommendations on the website and before long developed an awful suspicion I never expressed respect to the site owner for those techniques. All the young men were definitely so passionate to study all of them and have in effect undoubtedly been enjoying them. Appreciation for turning out to be indeed considerate and for deciding on this kind of smart useful guides most people are really eager to be aware of. My very own sincere regret for not expressing appreciation to earlier.

  • Comment Link curry shoes Sunday, 18 December 2022 07:35 posted by curry shoes

    I wish to voice my admiration for your kind-heartedness for men who absolutely need assistance with the question. Your very own dedication to passing the message around ended up being unbelievably valuable and have really enabled men and women like me to achieve their targets. Your new useful help implies this much a person like me and even more to my mates. Warm regards; from each one of us.

  • Comment Link supreme clothing Sunday, 18 December 2022 07:05 posted by supreme clothing

    Thanks so much for giving everyone a very superb chance to read critical reviews from this web site. It is usually very pleasurable plus jam-packed with amusement for me personally and my office mates to visit your blog nearly three times in one week to read the new issues you have got. And indeed, we're always happy considering the staggering techniques you serve. Some 1 ideas in this article are really the most suitable we have ever had.

  • Comment Link golden goose Sunday, 18 December 2022 02:53 posted by golden goose

    A lot of thanks for all of the labor on this web page. Kim really likes engaging in research and it's really easy to understand why. My partner and i notice all of the powerful tactic you deliver effective techniques via your blog and as well inspire response from some other people on the subject matter so our favorite princess is without question studying a lot. Take advantage of the rest of the new year. You have been carrying out a good job.

Leave a comment

Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.