How many times have you heard it?
“I’m going to lose weight this year.”
“I’m going to stop smoking next year.”
“I’m going to see my family more.”
These are all fantastic New Year’s resolutions, but in my opinion, it’s all a load of codswallop.
Scanning around the internet, one article suggests just 8% of people stick to their resolutions.
Another suggests 80% fail by February.
Whatever the stats, the success rate is lousy. Even gambling on a fruit machine has a better success rate!
The definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”
Albert Einstein
Why do we have New Year’s resolutions?
My research tells me that “the ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago,” making “promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed.”
Sadly, today’s world doesn’t work like it used to.
Our modern society filled with consumerism seems to be more focused on reversing the effects of self-indulgence and symptoms of greed and laziness. (Harsh words but true).
Marketing pushes products on us that promise to make our lives happier, slimmer, richer, fitter, healthier, easier, blah, blah, blah……
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying people shouldn’t be taking action on improving their lives but I do get confused why there is so much hype around the ‘New Year New You’ bullshit. Surely it’s just a cunning marketing ploy?
I have a friend who says he’s going to stop smoking. He’s been telling me he’s going to quit in the New Year since November. Good on him. But why didn’t he quit the day he decided he wanted to stop? What was the benefit of waiting?
I haven’t made a New Year’s resolution for years. To me, 1st January is a day like any other – another brand new, shiny, exciting day filled with opportunity.
There’s some science behind goal setting, why some people succeed and others fail. There are articles scattered all over the internet, but I’m going to say JUST GET ON WITH IT!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Most of us are fortunate enough to wake up each morning and have our day filled with choice and opportunity.
Let’s make the most of that instead of waiting for a date in the calendar.
It’s like a bungee jump – the longer we wait, the harder it gets?