By Vaness Cort
THIS was the topic of the online forum – The Fun+NEL Chat Show – that I recently joined, which aims to provide fun (Fun) with never-ending learning (NEL).

Each Sunday at 17:00 hours, members get online to discuss topics of interest, social issues and even personal experiences; the debate is lively and everyone is invited to comment on the subject presented and ask questions.

Last Sunday, New Year’s Day, the debate circled around changes people would like to see in themselves or their environment and inevitably the subject of New Year’s resolutions arose.
While some baulked at the idea of actually calling their New Year goal a resolution, the very definition of the word really made it clear that it was indeed an act they were resolved to do. For the word “resolution” means, “a firm decision to do or not to do something” or “the quality of being determined or resolute.”

So, having a goal in mind does not qualify as a resolution, which carries much more weight and signals a definite intent and not just a vague notion.

According to the History Channel, the ancient Babylonians began the practice 4,000 years ago and were also the first to hold celebrations, though their new year began in mid-March,
During a huge 12-day festival – Akitu – when a new king was crowned, the Babylonians also made promises to the gods to return borrowed items and settle their debts. It was felt that if these promises were kept, the gods would bestow favour, but if they were broken, the offender would fall out of favour, something no one wanted to happen.

Similarly, after Emperor Julius Caesar “tinkered” with the calendar in ancient Rome, January 1 was established as the beginning of the New Year, around 46 BC, and named for the two-faced god, Janus.

It was thought that Janus “symbolically looked back into the previous year and ahead into the future.” So, the Romans offered sacrifices to the god and promised “good conduct” for the year ahead.

Writer, Sarah Pruitt tells us that early Christians then began to consider the first day of the New Year, an occasion “for thinking about one’s past and resolving to do better in the future.”
However, despite its religious roots New Year’s resolutions are now mostly secular, with people making promises to themselves and focusing, generally on self-improvement.
Sharing his thoughts, Dennis Buttimer, M.Ed. – a facilitator at Thomas F. Chapman Family Cancer Wellness in the US – says: “I think most people want a second chance to improve the quality of their lives.”

He adds, cogently, that: “The New Year offers a blank slate – an opportunity to get things right. When we set New Year’s resolutions, we are utilising a very important concept called self-efficacy, which means aspiring to a goal and following through on it, I have a sense of control over what is happening in my life.”

However, most of us are poor at keeping our New Year’s resolutions, which we continue to set year after year, nevertheless, hoping to finally achieve them.
Scientists offer us a reason for this failure, explaining that setting a resolution and beginning to follow through on it triggers the ‘neuro-hormone’ dopamine in the brain. This hormone “helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centre and regulates emotional responses.”

When the dopamine level eventually drops so does our determination to achieve our goals. We simply lose our enthusiasm and so our resolve waivers.
If you want to hold firm to your resolution, Buttimer recommends you seek support from others, letting them know your goals; create a reward system; set short-term goals and reward yourself for meeting them and have compassion for yourself.

He warns: “One of the biggest obstacles to success is self-criticism,” adding these words of encouragement: “No one is perfect. Instead of beating yourself up, take a deep breath and keep trying.”