Instead of making resolutions, do this…
AT the start of every year it is common practice for people to make New Year’s resolutions, which often don’t stick around beyond February.
This is because many resolutions are unrealistic and unreasonable as they are usually quantified, leading to disappointments based on the curve balls life may throw us. You may set a resolution to lose 100 pounds in the year and end up losing a loved one, which may hamper your progress.
Cheryll Messam, life and corporate coach at You in Mind Jamaica, said while resolutions are useful and help to keep people accountable, circumstances may alter how well we meet the goals we set.
“The environment within which we would be successful may contain more disabling elements. Also, people may not have done their evaluations or assessments to see if their resolutions are realistic, and end up breaking them,” Messam said.
Dr Fred Hickling, professor of psychiatry at the University of the West Indies, said most people who make resolutions don’t keep them and they’re merely defences we make to feel good.
“By the time you reach ‘into’ the new year and begin to feel the old stresses you may fall off the wagon,” Dr Hickling said.
He added that the few who keep resolutions do so when they are made for the short term.
Instead of making resolutions you may undoubtedly break, here are a few alternatives to start the year right.
1. Do a gratitude list
While people use the new year to think about what they’d like to change about their life, making a list of things you’re thankful for can make you more appreciative and help to shape your wish list for 2015. Doing this will give you a clearer sense of what matters most to you in your life.
2. Make a 2015 commitment to someone else
It doesn’t always have to be about you and what needs to change. There may be a charity organisation you can go into or you can honour a project which is bigger than you, like helping someone poor with groceries or with some of their utility bills or school expenses.
3. Document your triumphs
Try listing your favourite memories and triumphs as they happen in 2015, including all the challenges you face. “If you record your experiences it will help you to increase your self-awareness and see how your life is unfolding. You will then be able to decide whether or not the direction your life is headed is in harmony with what you feel a successful life looks like,” Messam said.
4. Anticipate what the new year will bring
While we may not know what the future holds, there are things we look forward to, such as owning our home, car or even business. Try making a list of at least 10 things to look forward to in 2015; be it a promotion, marriage, or even new episodes from your favourite TV show.
5. Do ‘rememberlutions’
Celebrate each awesome thing that happens to you in 2015 by writing them down and placing them in a jar, which you have the option of personalising. On December 31, 2015, you can open the jar and see all you have accomplished. “Be sure to look at the good in 2014 that you can continue and build on in 2015 before starting this,” Messam said.
