From next year I will Lose weight, stop eating sweets, exercising more, give up [some kind of addiction], will be more positive, study more, go on leisure travels, take care of my health, do some social work …..’ – these are some of the most common resolutions which we hear from many. Two things are very common with most teenagers when it comes to New Year – Party planning and resolution. Rarely do we find people who are not thinking of this for weeks ahead of the actual event. It’s like having a new year resolution is a must.
Funny enough, the plans we make are quite similar to the plans we made the years before. This is because at New Year’s Eve we realize that we did not manage to reach all the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year. Although we often are quite sincere in setting up these plans for ourselves on New Year’s Day, we fail to execute them successfully throughout the following year. After a couple of weeks or months into the year, we tend to give up on the resolution that we made. Here are a few pointer:
-
Just to have a new year’s resolution will not keep you motivated to fulfil your resolution. Before starting out or committing to a resolution, first decide if you are truly willing to make the change in your life.
-
You have to strive for the goal for reasons that are internal to yourself, and not for reasons that are put upon you by others. When you decide on your resolution, make a plan of action and list the ways it will improve your life.
-
Many usually do not come up with only one resolution; they come up with a list. A long list of resolutions can be confusing. Some of our plans may be related to each other and may hinder each others.
-
In order for your resolution to have resolve, it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. A good plan will tell you A) What to do next and B) What are all of the steps required to achieve the goal.
-
Getting out of a bad habit is quite takes considerable effort, because we are so used to performing the behavior. We often do not realize how much effort it is going to take to reach our goals; so be prepared for the relentless efforts.
Do not make resolves / goals which are unrealistic or difficult to achieve or too big. Resolutions can be as simple as reading one book a month or trying to compliment or help someone on a daily basis or sharing more and spending more time with parents / relatives or gossiping less or learning a new skill or spending qualitative time introspecting and reflecting about one’s own life or it can also be interacting with people in your neighbourhood or reducing waste and many such things which are more closer to your life, doable and value adding which will help you in becoming a better person.
Good resolutions can help to improve relationships, family life and personal life. Have a Happy & Happening New Year.
Suchitra Surve