student life

Why New Year’s resolutions are not for me and maybe you!

How did you spend New Year’s? Hungover? Stuffed? I bet most of you can’t even remember.

How did you spend New Year’s? Hungover? Stuffed? I bet most of you can’t even remember. Well, we can most probably relate in that plastered all over our social networks was that one common and rather annoying phrase ‘New Year, New me’.
 
Did you know, two out of three of us make New Year’s resolutions and only 8% actually keep to them? It doesn’t really surprise me.
 
However, I can relate to this. Personally, I have never kept to my promises for change much past the first week or two in January. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one, looking above. What have been your previous resolutions you ask. Well never the usual, to lose weight, if anything I need to put it on, and it wasn’t to quit smoking, I’ve done well not to start. It has however been the same since I turned 18 really, to spend less and save more. It never works out right. Why? As I possibly like you, believe it or not, shop until I literally drop. The sales more often than not rope me in one way or another; I just can’t let a bargain slip through my fingers – I’m male too (no sexism intended).
 
I’m beginning to think I may have a problem. I dread to check my balance; I’m surprised I can still press withdraw without the cash point freezing on me. This is why, after breaking multiple promises and just as many holes in my wallet, I thought enough was enough. I was probably 20 at the time and considered what the point really was, like you perhaps. My days of setting long term self-improvement goals had sadly come to an end, though they never really started.
 
At first I just followed the crowd and accepted this New Year’s resolution stuff as standard procedure, never really been one to question myself. We all tend to do what comes naturally, it’s an easy alternative, admit it. But just where on earth did this custom of New Year’s resolutions originate? I don’t want to bore you with a history lesson, but to point you in the right direction, look up ancient Babylon and you have hit the jackpot. I now discover there are free apps available for download offering guidance and support throughout the year. Typical, if only this was say a year ago, I’d be praising the tradition not slating it. From what I know, these apps are dedicated to 10 of the most common resolutions, check out Fooducate, Breathe2Relax and QuitSTART to name a few. I think they are pretty self explanatory.
 
My favourite has to be RunPee, this nifty little thing tells you when the best time is to run and pee during a movie without missing the best scenes, don’t ask how. You’re probably questioning its relevance. It’s slightly odd I know but nevertheless comes in handy, especially if you want to give you and your body that break it needs this year. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Although I hype them, I shall not be downloading any not only because I have decided to give up on New Year’s resolutions but because I do not possess an IOS, Android or Windows phone. Just for the record, I do have a phone, a Blackberry which unfortunately does not support any of the apps mentioned. Looks like I’m going to have to miss the best scenes after all, great, you lucky lot you.
 
Let me make this clear. I am not saying its wrong to want (or need) to change just that it is difficult to do so. Change is uncomfortable and can even be painful that’s why some of us avoid it completely. To overcome some of our bad habits we need more than a year, it’s more like a lifelong struggle. Most of us tend to fall fast back into our old habits because that part of our life is missing that we have been so familiar with for so long. You then decide next year will be the year, then the year after that and so on so forth. That’s why I stopped. These bad habits are so ingrained in our lives they seem so impossible to overcome. You may say although it is difficult it is far from impossible, true say, but I think the stats speak for themselves.
 
You need to have the right mindset day in day out for 365 days, can you do that? If you can, great, good luck, please prove me wrong. If you can’t don’t worry, you’re not alone and only wasting your time, thank me in 2 weeks!
 
“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”
Oprah Winfrey
Image: Flickr / Chris