New Year Resolutions – between self delusion and excitement

Some 4000 years after they have been first introduced as a custom, the frenzy of New Year Resolutions still causes some internal friction to those of us that do not follow through to our self promises.

According to historians, the new year’s resolution custom dates back to the ancient Babylonians, during the reign of King Hammurabi and even more so to the ancient Christians, that drawing from the Hebrew culture of making amends with past wrong doers or improving one’s mistakes for bettering their future self.

Most of the resolutions have changed during their long lived lifespan and nowadays NYR came to be more personal. Examples vary from exercising more and  losing weight to becoming a better listener, cultivating empathy, being less judgmental and even making more room for family time.

There is promising research in the field of behavioural therapy that concedes in the words of Julia Dhar that “: “If you can train your mind to declare a fresh start, the probability of success goes way up.”

So, how come most of our takes on New Year’s Resolutions are self-indulging delusions?

Without sounding rather harsh…I will have to point at our declared commitment towards our New Year’s Resolutions. It seems to me that at the turning point of the clocks on New Years Eve, we are swept into “the fresh start effect” fever, which can turn against us when it comes to actually committing to our promises.

So, in order to help my audience live through their self-promises, I have made a list of tips on the subject:

1. Write down your goals

There are numerous psychological studies that praise the written word. It all boils down to the way that information has been passed through us over the centuries, and that only valuable insights or knowledge to be written down on paper. Try using your work prioritisation skills for you to set achievable resolutions over the course of the coming year.

1. Understand the negative consequences of you failing

As you are most probably aware of the existence of a cost of opportunity when engaging or not with an activity, we can extend this costly notion to our own failings to keep New Year’s Resolution. The nature of this cost could be either financial and/or emotional sense.

1. Post your goals or discuss them with others

This little trick will help you become more committed towards your own goals, as once they are scrutinized by your team and family, it will be hard to avoid the tasks at hand from simple fear of embarrassing oneself. This elicited emotion will then in turn to your incentive to succeed.

1. Get yourself an accountability partner or coach

This little trick is different from the previous one, in the sense that here you will set milestones with your accountability partner/coach, and he will track your personal projects progress. If it comes to exercising goals, a workout partner will help you get into the workout habit formation.

This step is most important as accountability determines almost always the chances of something becoming successful. Also, for more complex goals, it is best to discuss them with your existing life development coach or with other specialists in the field where you are interested to make progress.

Happy New Year and buzz me for your detailed and personalised New Year’s Resolution Plan…