WHY I STOPPED MAKING NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS
As we enter into a new year there have been so many talks on having new year resolutions, from public figures to social media and even peer pressure. It has become the norm. “As we emerge into a new year, be sure to put down your new year resolutions”, that’s how they put it, or something like that. The emphasis and pressure placed on it have grown and to be frank, we are getting it all wrong.
I had always fallen into this new year resolutions trap that I decided that I wasn’t going to make any last year, and how did the year turn out for me? Great! Now, I am not saying making new year resolutions is wrong but that they are overrated. Not only did the year turn out great for me, but I also learned why my new year resolutions never worked out and I’ll share them with you.
WRONG REASONS
A lot of times when we do things, we do them with wrong reasons, including making new year resolutions. We have been influenced by social media and peer pressure so much that we don’t even realize it. We take up our pen on paper, writing down resolutions not because we want to but because everyone is talking about it and by February, those resolutions are forgotten. Why won’t they be? You wrote them down for others, not yourself.
IRRELEVANT STUFF
This happens when you make new year resolutions because others are doing it. In cases like this, you find yourself making irrelevant resolutions. Maybe the people you look up to have a lot on their list, or they probably added stuff like “learn a new language”, “learn to play an instrument” or something else, which is okay, but you have no interest in them; and then you add them to your list.
You could also honestly write down resolutions for yourself but you made just four resolutions for the year and they seem so little and make you feel less of yourself because the resolutions of people you see out there are no less than 10, so you add up irrelevant stuff just so you can be part of them.
UNREALISTIC DEADLINES
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” Napoleon Hill
True, but he never said it was going to happen in a year. I’ve made some unrealistic resolutions that I know I can’t achieve in a year, we all do. Like the amount of money you want to have saved or the project you hope to start and finish by the end of the year. We set goals so high, we are sure we are about to fall, so high that it puts pressure on us trying to achieve them.
NO ADDED ACTION
After making those resolutions, which I want to believe are achievable, do you even work towards them? Let’s say you wrote that you want to lose some weight this year, what plans have you made towards it. Have you started exercising, what about reducing your fats and carbs intake, eating more fruits, and living healthy? I guess not. You cannot put down a plan and not take action towards it and expect it to work.
Rather than deceiving yourself with the charade of you writing new year resolutions you know you won’t keep, do these instead;
1. HAVE RIGHT REASONS
If you really want to have new year resolutions, which I totally support, have them for the right reasons. Have them because that part of you needs change, have them because you need the vow to stick to, not because everyone’s doing it.
2. BREAK IT INTO BITS
Massive tasks are easier done when broken into bits. If you want to do something great this year, why not break them into bits? Let’s put that you want to save an amount of money, rather than leaving it at that huge sum, break it to bits. You could save 10% of the total amount every month, or save a percentage of your earnings every month. The point is, break it into smaller bits. Goals are easier achieved when small than when great.
3. BUILD HABITS INSTEAD
Rather than making resolutions, build habits instead; they’ll last you more than a year. Rather than working yourself out trying to get the amount you said you’ll save this year, why not spend less. By spending less, you’ll be saving more, without needing to work too hard. Rather than trying to have a mess-free home, stop buying stuff you don’t need. Instead of trying so hard to go to work early, go to bed early. Rather than trying so hard to meet those resolutions, build habits instead, they are lifetime.
4. MAKE ROOM FOR CORRECTIONS
Your goals or resolutions is not a constitution, it doesn’t need approval from anyone before correcting them, you didn’t need approval from anyone before making them. The world is full of uncertainties, you don’t know what happens next. Don’t lose yourself trying to keep up resolutions that won’t make it, you might be left with anxiety.
5. JOURNALING
This is the only way to keep track of all your achievements and goals. It is only by journaling you’ll know when you have made a mistake, when you’ve grown and whether or not you are keeping to your resolutions. Journaling tells you whether your resolutions need correcting or not.
Making new year resolutions is helpful but not mandatory. It is not a guarantee of having a productive year. If you still want to go ahead with the resolutions, great. The effect of having non-accomplished resolutions are disturbing as they affect your self-esteem and mental health.
Don’t do it if you don’t have to.
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