AT THE start of each year, the ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods that they would return borrowed objects, and pay their debts. In today’s world, at midnight services and parties worldwide, people still prepare for the year ahead by praying and making resolutions.But why do people make New Year’s resolutions? To begin with, resolutions can serve as a personal roadmap for the next 12 months. Religious traditions also parallel these resolutions. For example, during Judaism’s New Year, Rosh Hashanah, culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), persons reflect upon their wrongdoings over the year, and both seek and offer forgiveness.

People may do similarly during the Catholic fasting period of Lent. In fact, the practise of New Year’s resolutions partially came from the Lenten sacrifices. The concept, then, is to reflect upon self-improvement annually, regardless of creed.
The nature of New Year’s resolutions has changed over the last decades, with many resolutions being more superficial and appearance-oriented than had obtained in previous times.
As Wikipedia, the Online encyclopaedia states: “At the end of the 19th Century, a typical teenage girl’s New Year’s resolution was focused on good works: She resolved to become less self-centred, more helpful, a more diligent worker, and to improve her internal character. Body image, health, diet, and desired possessions were rarely mentioned.
“At the end of the 20th Century, the typical teenage girl’s resolution is focused on good looks: She wants to improve her body, hairstyle, makeup, and clothing.”
But why are New Year’s resolutions so easy to break? One-third of us who make New Year’s resolutions break them by the end of January. And only 23 per cent of everyone who makes a resolution will see it through to completion, says the statistics on howstuffworks.com.
Are you part of the 77 per cent who make resolutions, only to find you’ve given up before you ever really got started? Let’s break down how that happens:
One of the most common reasons we break our New Year’s resolutions is that we get a little overzealous when we make them, and we over-commit. And as a result, 40 per cent of us blame our busy schedules for our lack of follow-through. It’s easier to keep just one resolution, rather than several.
Another part of the problem is that we often make the wrong resolution (s). The key to successful goal-making is not to be hasty when you do it. Make resolutions you’ve thought through, and are willing to dedicate your time and energy to fulfilling. Don’t make a resolution on the spot after too many drinks at a New Year’s party. If you’re not 100 per cent committed to your goal, **the odds of staying motivated are not in your favour.
It can be difficult to stay motivated even when you’ve chosen one well-reasoned goal. Many of us lack motivation and accountability, despite our best intentions. Remove an easy way out by sharing your plans with friends and family members; the more people who know your goal, the less likely you’ll talk yourself out of sticking with your new habits. Sharing your goals with those close to you not only adds accountability — which many of us need to motivate ourselves — but it also gives you a support system.

Tips for keeping New Year’s resolutions:

1. Be specific: Vague goals won’t work, so map out your strategy before the New Year arrives. For example, if you want to lose weight, target a precise number of pounds to shed, and then set concrete mini-goals and the dates on which you aim to accomplish each of them.
Want to save money? Determine the amount you will put aside each month, and identify explicit changes in behaviour that you’ll make to get there.
2. Make your goal public: Share your decision to change with friends and family, who can offer support when you’re wavering, and encouragement when you’re doing well at sticking to your resolution.

3. Substitute good behaviours for “bad behaviours”: Build in a healthy behaviour that’s incompatible with the one you want to change. So, if eating your usual midafternoon treat runs contrary to your goal of dropping a few pounds, put together a small like-minded group, and commit to taking a quick, brisk walk at your normal snack time. Each time you put the brakes on “bad” behaviour, you’ll increase your confidence in your ability to make the change.

4. Track your progress: Record or chart your changed behaviour.

Popular goals:

Popular goals include resolutions to: (a) Improve physical well-being: Eat healthy food, lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, stop biting nails, get rid of old bad habits.

(b) Improve mental wellbeing: Think positive, laugh more often, enjoy life.

(c) Improve finances: Get out of debt, save money, make small investments.

(d) Improve your career: Perform better at current job; get a better job; establish your own business.

(e) Improve your education: Improve grades, get a better education, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music), study often, read more books, improve talents.

(f) Improve yourself: Become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent, perhaps watch less television, play fewer sitting-down video games.

(g) Take a trip.

(h) Volunteer to help others: Practise life skills, use civic virtue, give to charity, volunteer to work part-time in a charity organization (NGO)

(i) Get along better with people: Improve social skills, enhance social intelligence

(j) Make new friends.

(k) Spend quality time with family members.

(l) Settle down: Get engaged/get married, have kids.

(m) Try foreign foods; discover new cultures.

(n) Pray more, get closer to God, be more spiritual.

Yes, New Year’s resolutions are all about hopefulness. And it’s always been that way.
Written By Michelle Gonsalves
Sources: www.realsimple.htm, www.time.htm, www. howstuffworks.com, www.worldofpsychology.htm