2020 has been a very different year for everyone. I cannot believe this is my final post of 2020. I started 2020 with the idea of starting a website to get familiar with the ins and outs of it, to make an online presence for myself, no matter how big or small that was, and to start writing and hopefully supporting people with their well-being. At the time I had no idea how much we would start to rely on the online world. I did not post anything until March when my friend convinced me that I had to stop trying to make my page perfect and roll with what I had.
A lot of people at this time of the year make resolutions of things they want to change or achieve within the next year. I am sure a lot of them had to be scrapped or edited this year. But I thought, as we come to the end of the year when a lot will start this process again, that I would take some time to talk about what resolutions really mean and the positive and negative sides of doing these, especially at the start of the year.
Cambridge dictionary gives many examples of what a resolution means, the one most fitting is ‘a promise to yourself to do or not do something’.
Some of the most common (although I know there is a lot more) resolutions include;
- Exercise more
- Lose weight
- Learn something new
- Live life to the fullest
- Save more money
- Spend less money on certain things
- Quit something like smoking
- Spend more time outdoors
- Start meditating/ do more meditating
- Eat better
- Set aside an hour a day to focus on you or your dreams
- Drink less tea/coffee
- Become more confident
- Do more with friends or family
- Keep a journal
- Be more grateful
- Volunteer
- Get more sleep
- Build a stronger relationship/ find love
- Travel
So what makes us make resolutions at New Years’ in the first place? I believe some see it as a chance to start new, to break old habits and gain new ones that are more beneficial, which does sound great and a good time to start as the number on the year changes. However, I think the rush we get with our thoughts at New Years’ is like eating a donut. Strange concept, I know. But when you eat a donut or another high sugar food you get a rush of energy as your blood sugars peak and then a fast dip as your sugar drops, making you feel unmotivated and lethargic. New Year resolutions have a similar concept. Everyone is doing it; it is a new year and so on making us feel like it is a good time for us to do the same. But it can take us off in a whirlwind that does not help us to sustain or achieve what we want. It can also be seen as an excuse to overdo things during the festive period as you will change your habits in January, which would have me questioning how motivated you are about the goals you want to achieve.
Apparently, a staggering 80% of New Year resolutions fail. Here are some reasons as to why they fail;
- They are not specific enough
- They are unrealistic or unattainable
- You see your resolution like a marathon but treat it like a sprint i.e. you are setting yourself up to fail
- You do not believe in yourself
- You are in too much of a hurry and do not plan it outright
- You are trying too hard and not enjoying what you are doing
- You are doing it alone
- You are trying to change your beheviour without putting much thought into it
- Fear of actually achieving your goal and what this would mean then
- You need more than just willpower and the want. Realistically if I was living in Ireland and planning to go out for a run every day, I would fail after the first week because it is cold in January and I like to be able to feel my toes 😊
- They are too overwhelming and you do not know where to start
- The goal takes up too much time that you do not have
I am sure there are many reasons that you can think of for yourself as to why they do not work or have not worked for you. I believe the main thing is the timing. January is still winter for most countries. It is harder to feel motivated during this time, it has also been a time where you may have had some family time and time off work, which leads to a lot of emotions that may set you back. Another reason is the financial aspect of it, most things cost money and January is definitely not the right time to be adding more finances onto yourself. Resolutions do not have to come at the start of the year they could happen at any time over the year and we should not feel pressured to have resolutions just because everyone else is. And maybe New Year resolutions are overrated!
My point of all this; if you do set resolutions, do not set ones that you cannot achieve. At the start of each year, I set myself things that I want to start or achieve throughout the year. If I do not start on them until December 30th that is okay as it is within the year. I avoid setting the normal “I want to get fitter” and similar goals. I start this in November/early December so I am mindful of what I do during the festive period. That being said, I do still eat more stuff that I should not when I return home but the food tastes different so you have to make the most of it at the same time. I make sure they are things that I really want to achieve like I spoke earlier about my website and so on. I really wanted to achieve this and I have. Do many people check my blog out for the effort I put into it? Probably not. Does that make me want to stop it? Definitely not, as this is my first step. Rome was not built in a day and all that…
For this year, I think the best resolution achievement to aim for is to do your best, to remember in each and every situation that you tackle to do your best and the magic will then happen by itself. And if you do decide to make resolutions, be smart about them, and let’s make 2021 the best year that it can be.
