New Year’s resolution again!
“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”
– Jim Rohn
We are approaching that time of the year when people start saying things like, “this ends this year,” or “it won’t be like this next year,” or “next year will be different.” And it goes on. A study says that about 60% of the world’s population make New Year resolutions, and only 8% achieve them. What happened to the remaining 92%? I mean, they were as enthusiastic as the other eight, or even more, so what happened?
From personal experience, I believe you would agree that some resolutions should not be on your list, but somehow, they make their way to the top five out of the ten or more items on the list you have. We will get to why they shouldn’t be on your list in a bit, but let us look at our resolutions approach before then. From the word resolution, it seems to come from a more energetic angle of view. The “I must” mentality is always attached to every item on the list because, in the literal sense, that is what a resolution is.
However, you have to realize that the items on those lists are often things that you don’t have or haven’t done before, and all of a sudden, you want to have it all in the New Year. It doesn’t work like that because you can’t expect someone who is obese, still eats junks and has never tried sit-ups to become a fitness model instantly, and neither can you expect someone who has never driven a car before to be competing on a Formula-1 track. Note, it’s not that it won’t happen, but the approach and the period required will be different from that of someone who is already in the process. For example, someone already taking driving lessons or have been on a diet for more than three months. To them, the resolutions are more attainable.
Now, back to why some things shouldn’t be on your list. Some people make resolutions that are not specific enough, so they become goals that do not exactly fit their way of life. After a while, say few months; such resolutions will not make sense to such people anymore. Just like your goals, your New Year’s resolution should be SMART.
Having a destination without a path is what most New Year’s resolutions are to some people. They forget that the resolutions are like any other goal you make at any other time of the year. The only difference is the traditional aspect. Therefore, you also have to plan for each of them, identify what achieving each of them would cost you, and start making preparations for them.
