WHAT IS YOUR NEW YEAR
Dec 28, 2006
To some people, making a resolution seems to signify a form of passage into the New Year! As soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Years day, everyone grapples to make a resolution or two and then drop every resolution in a month’s time when the resolution fever has gone. Quite frankly, it is
To some people, making a resolution seems to signify a form of passage into the New Year! As soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Years day, everyone grapples to make a resolution or two and then drop every resolution in a month’s time when the resolution fever has gone. Quite frankly, it is exhausting to see such a cycle. So, seeing that most people will not make good on their resolutions this year, Raphael Okello dug up bits and pieces of practical resolution-saviour recipes to help you start keeping your resolutions
History of New Year resolution:
Making New Year resolutions is not a thing of our times. According to www.goalsguy.com, resolution making dates back to the early Babylonians, who are known to have celebrated the New Year approximately 4,000 years ago on March 23.
Babylonian’s most popular resolution was to return farm equipment borrowed the previous year. It seems returning borrowed hoes, rakes and other farm equipment was such a painful loss for Babylonian farmers! They had to resolve to do so if they were to return the borrowed farm equipment at all. It eventually became a time to make a resolution to return things borrowed from friends over the course of the previous year.
However, the site also cites that among the Romans, the tradition of New Year’s resolutions dates back to 153 B.C. At such times, Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions. Many Romans looked up to him, resolving to seek forgiveness from their enemies of previous years. They also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.
How to keep your resolution
We are not told whether the Babylonians and Romans made good on their resolutions but one thing is for sure, more than half the people who make resolutions today do not keep them. Here is how you can get to keep your New Year resolution.
Be realistic
The best way to fall short of your resolution is to make it unattainable.
“It is good to make resolutions on available resources within your means so that it does not later backfire on you,†advises Joseph Musalo, a counselling psychologist with Compassion International.
Meanwhile, Jill RachBeisel, the medical director and professor of community psychiatry at the University of Maryland Medical Centre, says, “Focus on realistic goals with measurable results. You need to break things down into small steps that you can manage. If your goal is too big, you will feel defeated before you even get started.â€
Take one step at a time
After setting realistic goals, go about meeting them one step at a time. According to Elizabeth Miller, a University of Washington doctoral candidate in psychology, “Resolutions are a process, not a one-time effort that offer people a chance to create new habits.â€
Take for instance, resolving to stop smoking from January 1 would not be a very wise thing to do. Instead, start by resolving to reduce the number of packets per day, then the number of sticks per week and then later per day. You are most likely to succeed if you take small steps towards the bigger goal. If you are a guy who wants to tone your muscles, do not walk into a gym and after a week and accuse your instructor of failing to make you look like a Club Silk bouncer. Patience!
Make one resolution
Pick on the most essential or pressing issue and concentrate on it.
Do not overwhelm yourself but if you feel you can do two, then knock yourself out. I know of a friend who wanted to build a house, buy a car, loss weight and get married all in the same year! He grappled with all but fulfilled none.
Tell a friend
Last year I overheard three girls disclosing their New Year resolutions. One of them hesitated to reveal hers. Some people believe resolutions are best kept to oneself, may be. But in her view, Ruth Ssenyonyi, a counselling Psychologists with Bank of Uganda, thinks telling your resolution to a friend you trust, “makes you accountable to someone else.†A friend will always remind you if he or she sees you veering off and sometimes you have to keep in line because you know you told someone.â€
Ssenyonyi, however, argues that the decision to tell someone else depends on the nature of the resolution and the person making it. “There are people who are very determined and do not need to be monitored and some have very personal and embarrassing resolutions like stopping to be a homosexual,†she said.
Record it somewhere
If you need a constant reminder, it is also important to record your resolution down somewhere; preferably in a place where you will see it very often. If you are an ardent Bible reader for instance, write the resolution on a paper and insert it in the Bible.
Alternatively develop a regular assessment schedule to check how far you have progressed.
Make your own resolutions
You can only succeed in doing something if your heart desires to. Ssenyonyi believes your goal should be something you really desire to change or achieve, not something your girlfriend, wife, relatives or friends believe is good for you to do.
“You should know how important the resolution you are making is to you. Say if you are deciding to stop drinking alcohol or smoking, well it sounds good but, you should know why you want to stop drinking or smoking,†she advises. Once you resolve to do something that people around you feel is good for you, chances are you will not have a strong, inner conviction about it. You will also not have the energy and drive to carry on when you face temptations.
Know your resolution early
If you have not made your resolution by now, do not be in so much of a rush as if you are about to miss the weekly village bus. Give yourself time. Think through each one of your aspirations and find out which one is urgent and achievable this year.
You can make your resolution any time of the year.
Plan your battle
Be prepared for the challenges in trying to achieve your goal.
Bob Strauss, an American author, suggests that everyone should have a back-up plan on how to deal with the temptation of falling short of his or her resolution. For example, you should know how you would deal with the temptation to drink alcohol or put more than one spoonful of sugar in a cup of coffee. Once in a while, you may fail, that is why it is advisable to have a plan.
Hang on to your resolution
Experts have said that once you stick to something like an exercise, it takes about 21 days for it to eventually grow into a habit and six months for it to become part of your personality. So if you have resolved to jog every morning, just force yourself for the first days, it will soon become a habit and eventually your personality.
Persist
If you veer off the path to achieving your resolution say by March, do not quit and wait for the next year to renew it. Ssenyonyi reassures that you can start over again!
“I always advise the people I counsel that they might fall short but they should always pick themselves up. It is the same with resolutions. When you fall, pick yourself up and start again. You can renew your resolution any time of the year,†she says.
Happy New Year!
History of New Year resolution:
Making New Year resolutions is not a thing of our times. According to www.goalsguy.com, resolution making dates back to the early Babylonians, who are known to have celebrated the New Year approximately 4,000 years ago on March 23.
Babylonian’s most popular resolution was to return farm equipment borrowed the previous year. It seems returning borrowed hoes, rakes and other farm equipment was such a painful loss for Babylonian farmers! They had to resolve to do so if they were to return the borrowed farm equipment at all. It eventually became a time to make a resolution to return things borrowed from friends over the course of the previous year.
However, the site also cites that among the Romans, the tradition of New Year’s resolutions dates back to 153 B.C. At such times, Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions. Many Romans looked up to him, resolving to seek forgiveness from their enemies of previous years. They also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.
How to keep your resolution
We are not told whether the Babylonians and Romans made good on their resolutions but one thing is for sure, more than half the people who make resolutions today do not keep them. Here is how you can get to keep your New Year resolution.
Be realistic
The best way to fall short of your resolution is to make it unattainable.
“It is good to make resolutions on available resources within your means so that it does not later backfire on you,†advises Joseph Musalo, a counselling psychologist with Compassion International.
Meanwhile, Jill RachBeisel, the medical director and professor of community psychiatry at the University of Maryland Medical Centre, says, “Focus on realistic goals with measurable results. You need to break things down into small steps that you can manage. If your goal is too big, you will feel defeated before you even get started.â€
Take one step at a time
After setting realistic goals, go about meeting them one step at a time. According to Elizabeth Miller, a University of Washington doctoral candidate in psychology, “Resolutions are a process, not a one-time effort that offer people a chance to create new habits.â€
Take for instance, resolving to stop smoking from January 1 would not be a very wise thing to do. Instead, start by resolving to reduce the number of packets per day, then the number of sticks per week and then later per day. You are most likely to succeed if you take small steps towards the bigger goal. If you are a guy who wants to tone your muscles, do not walk into a gym and after a week and accuse your instructor of failing to make you look like a Club Silk bouncer. Patience!
Make one resolution
Pick on the most essential or pressing issue and concentrate on it.
Do not overwhelm yourself but if you feel you can do two, then knock yourself out. I know of a friend who wanted to build a house, buy a car, loss weight and get married all in the same year! He grappled with all but fulfilled none.
Tell a friend
Last year I overheard three girls disclosing their New Year resolutions. One of them hesitated to reveal hers. Some people believe resolutions are best kept to oneself, may be. But in her view, Ruth Ssenyonyi, a counselling Psychologists with Bank of Uganda, thinks telling your resolution to a friend you trust, “makes you accountable to someone else.†A friend will always remind you if he or she sees you veering off and sometimes you have to keep in line because you know you told someone.â€
Ssenyonyi, however, argues that the decision to tell someone else depends on the nature of the resolution and the person making it. “There are people who are very determined and do not need to be monitored and some have very personal and embarrassing resolutions like stopping to be a homosexual,†she said.
Record it somewhere
If you need a constant reminder, it is also important to record your resolution down somewhere; preferably in a place where you will see it very often. If you are an ardent Bible reader for instance, write the resolution on a paper and insert it in the Bible.
Alternatively develop a regular assessment schedule to check how far you have progressed.
Make your own resolutions
You can only succeed in doing something if your heart desires to. Ssenyonyi believes your goal should be something you really desire to change or achieve, not something your girlfriend, wife, relatives or friends believe is good for you to do.
“You should know how important the resolution you are making is to you. Say if you are deciding to stop drinking alcohol or smoking, well it sounds good but, you should know why you want to stop drinking or smoking,†she advises. Once you resolve to do something that people around you feel is good for you, chances are you will not have a strong, inner conviction about it. You will also not have the energy and drive to carry on when you face temptations.
Know your resolution early
If you have not made your resolution by now, do not be in so much of a rush as if you are about to miss the weekly village bus. Give yourself time. Think through each one of your aspirations and find out which one is urgent and achievable this year.
You can make your resolution any time of the year.
Plan your battle
Be prepared for the challenges in trying to achieve your goal.
Bob Strauss, an American author, suggests that everyone should have a back-up plan on how to deal with the temptation of falling short of his or her resolution. For example, you should know how you would deal with the temptation to drink alcohol or put more than one spoonful of sugar in a cup of coffee. Once in a while, you may fail, that is why it is advisable to have a plan.
Hang on to your resolution
Experts have said that once you stick to something like an exercise, it takes about 21 days for it to eventually grow into a habit and six months for it to become part of your personality. So if you have resolved to jog every morning, just force yourself for the first days, it will soon become a habit and eventually your personality.
Persist
If you veer off the path to achieving your resolution say by March, do not quit and wait for the next year to renew it. Ssenyonyi reassures that you can start over again!
“I always advise the people I counsel that they might fall short but they should always pick themselves up. It is the same with resolutions. When you fall, pick yourself up and start again. You can renew your resolution any time of the year,†she says.
Happy New Year!