Every year, typically toward the end, you tend to hear more and more talk about the resolutions that people are making for the coming new year. The phrase “new year, new me,” almost becomes the motto of everyone with any kind of social media. Mostly they deal with trying to get rid of a bad habit, or trying to gain a new, good habit. From losing weight, to quitting smoking, New Year’s resolutions come in all shapes and sizes. But one thing they pretty much all have in common is that people usually don’t stick with them for very long after the new year has begun.
People usually mean well when they take to making resolutions, but a lot of the time the goals that people set for themselves are extraordinarily unrealistic to achieve in the first few weeks of the new year. There are two important rules to follow when making a resolution that you can/will stick to in the new year.
The first important rule to making a New Year’s resolution is to not make a resolution that will take a lot of work and expect to immediately have it down. Do not try to move a mountain when you don’t even have your shoes and jacket on. What I mean is that don’t try to do something really difficult all at once, and expect to succeed immediately. Long-term results require long-term effort. For the really big resolutions, you should expect to put in a lot of work for more than just the first three weeks of the new year. Going into a tough resolution with this in mind will help you keep your patience in line.
The second rule to a good resolution is to pick something that you are already fairly passionate about or interested in. For example, if you are not really interested in fitness, don’t make a resolution to run six marathons and a triathlon because you hear other people making the same resolution. If you are someone who smokes a lot of cigarettes, and you have been wanting to quit for a while, or you have tried to quit before, you are going to be more likely to put in hard work to achieve that resolution than someone who hates running trying to train for a 26 mile run. You can’t magically grow passion for something overnight, so thinking that going from one year to another will give you some burning passion and dedication to something is an excellent way to set yourself up for failure.
So if you are going to make a New Year’s resolution this year, remember to not try to take on too much and expect instant results. You will only disappoint yourself and most likely you will give up on your resolution all together. Also remember to pick something that you’re already passionate about, or at least remotely interested in. If you expect some magical passion for your resolution after you wake up on January 1, you will be in for a rough start to your new year. But this doesn’t mean to limit yourself. If you are willing to put in the hard work, you can accomplish whatever you plan for yourself. Just remember to start out small, and work your way up.
Good luck planning your resolutions, and have a happy New Year’s!
