New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s Resolutions – Just empty self-promises or committed goals?
The New Year is the promise of new beginnings and a fresh start. Whereas people make use of this time to make their resolutions for the New Year, it is important to understand precisely what a resolution is.
Have you ever made New Year’s resolutions, just to find that you stick to them for a month or two and then fall back into your old habits and routines? How realistic are they and are you committed to stick to them? Maybe you need a bit of help or maybe you’re not making goal specific resolutions.
We all have things that we’d like to change about ourselves, but it’s important to distinguish between wishing for something and making a resolute decision to do something concrete about it.
A wish is something vague and undefined, we can wish to be healthier or to lose weight but without setting realistic goals on how to achieve this, we are doomed to fail.
A resolution on the other hand is a planned course of action to do things differently in the future, a resolute decision to change the way that we act and behave.
This means that unlike saying that we should exercise more, we make a conscious decision to take a walk every morning. The key is to think about what you want, look at what can be done about it and commit to realistic goals with defined objectives to aim for.
As the saying goes, if you know what the question is, you’ll know how to find the answer. The same goes for resolutions. If you set clearly defined, realistic goals for your resolutions and have the necessary support structure, it will be easier to keep your New Year’s resolutions for the whole year (and hopefully for the rest of your life) and not just for a week or two.
Here are a few tips to help you stay focused on your resolutions and a few ideas for resolutions worth sticking to.
Keeping Your Resolutions
Be Realistic
The most important part about a resolution is to be realistic. If you are badly out of shape, it is very unlikely that you can expect to be ready for the Comrades if you don’t train every day. Everyone’s personality and circumstances are different, what may be easily maintained by one may not be so easy for another.
Take Small Steps
Sometimes going the whole hog in one go is a bit over ambitious. If you want to stop smoking for example, try cutting back at first and make you way from there. The same goes for a new diet, rather start by substituting a few items for healthier options in the beginning and over time move on to healthy foods. To some people the pressure of turning everything around overnight is too much and they tend to decline into bad habits quicker than if they were to gradually ease into things.
Don’t be too Hard on Yourself
We are all human, but don’t think just because you had one day of overindulgence that it is all over and throw in the towel. Any resolutions, especially ones striving for self-improvement, are difficult in the beginning and at times you might stray from your path. Rather brush it off, learn from the pitfalls and continue on your quest. If you are focused and can weather the bad days, you are more likely to see it through. Remember, one day at a time!
Get a Buddy
Most things in life are easier if you have a friend to support you. If you can get a friend to join you, that’s great, but even just the moral support will be valuable. Remember, a good friend is someone who will tell you truth, whether you want to hear it or not. Take their advice in the spirit it was given, even if it is harsh, you did ask for their help after all.
Keep a Positive Attitude
Most resolutions aren’t much fun or easy – that’s why you haven’t done them up to this point. Staying positive, even if the going gets tough, and focusing on your end result will help you to be able to complete what you’ve set out to do. Even try a bit of trickery. Your brain does not know that you are not truly happy if you force yourself to smile, even if you don’t feel like smiling. Use this technique to your advantage.
What to do?
This time of year you hear all about New Year’s Resolutions, people vow to stop smoking, get more exercise, improve their diets, the list goes on and on. Your resolutions should be made after a period of reflection.
You’re not doing it for show and should be undertaken in order to improve yourself or the lives of people around you. Here are a few ideas:
Go Green
Our planet needs all the help it can get. For years humans have disregarded the earth and selfishly done as they please. A few small changes to your lifestyle can make a BIG impact on the earth. Your friends might even catch on and start a domino effect that can make a HUGE difference. Here are a few simple ideas:
- Drink tap water, instead of bottled water – We are fortunate that most places in South Africa have clean, safe drinking water and plastic bottles are a huge source of pollution. By re-using a plastic bottle you’re not only saving money, but recycling too.
- Start a Compost Heap – This way you can give goodness back to the soil
- Switch off the light when you leave a room – in South Africa this not only saves you money but also reduces pressure on the energy grid.
- Walk or use your bicycle instead of driving your car – This reduces emissions and is also healthy
- Become a weekend vegetarian – Cutting back on meat for just 2 days a week reduces your carbon footprint by a third!
Go Healthy
A healthy body houses a healthy mind. We all want to be in peak condition to perform at our best in all aspects of our lives. Whether it’s a new diet, fitness regime or just drinking more water every day, it’s one of the most difficult resolutions to stick to. As we said above, take small steps. If it’s a new fitness routine, start with a few days a week or 10 minutes a day and gradually increase it.
You don’t have to buy expensive food to stay healthy or starve yourself to lose weight. Do proper research about different diets and choose one that will best suite your lifestyle and choices. You’re not going to stick to a vegetarian diet if your greatest culinary pleasure is a sizzling steak…
If you have trouble drinking enough water, get yourself a dedicated water bottle that you take to work every day. Fruit generally has a high water content, so pack some in for a snack during the day.
Regular check-ups should also be on every health conscious person’s list. This way any problems that may arise can be caught early, but don’t forget, prevention is better than cure.
Broaden Your Horizons
The New Year is the perfect time to broaden your horizons, it might be learning a new language, finally travelling to your dream destination or even learning to surf.
As with other resolutions, it may seem daunting at first, but once again, baby steps is the key. Nobody learns French in a week!
In the digital age, everything is just a keystroke away, use the internet to your advantage. Message boards and online forums are full of people who not only have useful information on just about any topic you can imagine, but are more often than not, willing to share. The library is also a good place to start, but perhaps getting to grips with the internet is New Year’s resolution worth considering.
Remember that knowledge is never wasted, anything you learn, whether it’s a skill or a language may surprise you in its application in the future. It may not only open your eyes but may also benefit those around you.
Do Good
Nothing makes you feel as great as knowing you did something good for someone else. You don’t have to donate your life savings to make a difference either. Small acts of kindness to those that expect it least can make a great impact. Visiting someone in an old age home or hospital that seldom gets visitors can change their whole world. Just making a conscious effort to smile to more people or just being friendly to someone you’ve just met can make their day.
There are many volunteer projects that you can take part in to help make a difference in people’s, or animal’s, lives. Draw from the things you feel passionate about and find out from your local municipality, tourism office or in our Paarl Cares section to find a community project you can become involved in.
The Big Brother project is also a great way to make a difference in a young person’s life. Sometimes all they need is a positive influence when circumstances beyond their control have left them without a mentor. Often all a child needs is to know that an adult has also gone through the same things they are going through and a bit of advice and moral support can go a long way in helping them cope with what life may throw at them.
Conclusion
There’s nothing wrong with aiming high, it’s human nature to dream and aspire to things that may seem impossible at first but it is important to realise what you’re capable of and not to set yourself up for failure.
Remember, wishing you could climb Table Mountain is unlikely to yield results but once you know where to start and which direction to go, you’ve already taken the first steps.
Make this coming year’s resolutions something that will enrich, inspire and improve, not only yourself but those around you too.