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The coming of every new year brings a need for change or reform. Now is the time to get rid of everything negative in your life. It’s a fresh slate, a chance to start over. It’s that time again for New Year’s resolutions.
The tradition of a New Year’s celebration goes back approximately 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. The Babylonians celebrated the start of the new year at the time of the first new moon following the vernal equinox (typically a day in late March).
Throughout history, New Year’s was usually scheduled during some agriculturally significant event.
New Year’s wasn’t moved to January until 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar rearranged the Roman calendar to be in sync with the sun. Caesar placed the new year in January partly for the month’s namesake, Janus, also known as the Roman god of beginnings.
It was told that Janus had two faces, allowing him to look back on the past year while looking forward to the upcoming one. The Romans celebrated the new year by exchanging gifts, attending parties and offering sacrifices to the god Janus.
Nowadays, our traditions are a bit different, consisting of fireworks, staying up late and making resolutions for the new year.
A resolution is a determination, or resolve, upon a certain course of action. For most people, resolutions are a way to kick bad habits, get organized and enjoy life more. It’s a time to set new goals and re-evaluate what you want to accomplish in the new year.
A few of the most commonly selected resolutions are to lose weight, stop smoking, get organized, reduce stress and spend more time with family. Unfortunately, about 90 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail — nearly half of which are abandoned by the end of January. The main reason for this is a loss of motivation, lack of organization or failure to commit. Several resolutions fail because the person just didn’t feel like doing it anymore or didn’t have a concrete plan.
If a resolution is too vague, too complicated or just impractical it’s not likely to succeed.
It’s not enough to simply say, “I’m going to lose weight this year.” Be specific. For example, make a long-term goal to lose two pounds every week, and keep track of your progress on a calendar or something you look at regularly. Keep it simple — because let’s face it, there’s no way you’re going to be able to quit smoking in a week or lose 50 pounds in a month. It’s not necessary to make six different resolutions — that’s just biting off more than you can chew. If your resolutions are unrealistic, you’re just setting yourself up to fail.
Instead, set a goal you are really passionate about, not something you are obligated to do, but something you want for yourself. Make it something productive. Come back to that goal from time to time and reassess how far you’ve gotten and how much farther until you achieve it — set a deadline if you need to.
Most importantly, remember that you don’t need the change of a calendar year to change your life.
