By: Yumna Sohail
As we bid farewell to the eventful year of 2013, many of us demonstrate the ambition for a better and brighter New Year. People often commit themselves to live up to a new positive set of aims intended to make their lives more stupendous. This secular tradition aiming for self-improvement is given the name of the New Year's Resolution. However as research has been carried out on this widely followed initiative, results show that out of every 100 New Year's Resolutions committed to, 88 fail (University of Britol), despite the firm confidence they are made with. As quoted by Frank Ra in his book 'A Course in Happiness', "Resolutions are more sustainable when shared, both in terms of with whom you share the benefits of your resolution, and with whom you share the path of maintaining your resolution. Peer-support makes a difference in success rate with new year's resolutions". The picture illustrates some of the most popular resolutions, worldwide.
However, sustaining these resolutions is a more complicated task than is thought to be .Why is that so? Well, it is often believed that resolutions need not be kept specifically at the beginning of a New Year. If one has to change themselves, then why wait for the New Year? Why not now? On the other hand, others believe that the New Year is a time for a new beginning not only on their calenders , but for their not so ideal lives.So how to make sure that resolutions made are pursued as well? To begin with, there are three important characteristics that resolutions should be made according to in order to have a genuine basis for longevity.
As we bid farewell to the eventful year of 2013, many of us demonstrate the ambition for a better and brighter New Year. People often commit themselves to live up to a new positive set of aims intended to make their lives more stupendous. This secular tradition aiming for self-improvement is given the name of the New Year's Resolution. However as research has been carried out on this widely followed initiative, results show that out of every 100 New Year's Resolutions committed to, 88 fail (University of Britol), despite the firm confidence they are made with. As quoted by Frank Ra in his book 'A Course in Happiness', "Resolutions are more sustainable when shared, both in terms of with whom you share the benefits of your resolution, and with whom you share the path of maintaining your resolution. Peer-support makes a difference in success rate with new year's resolutions". The picture illustrates some of the most popular resolutions, worldwide.
However, sustaining these resolutions is a more complicated task than is thought to be .Why is that so? Well, it is often believed that resolutions need not be kept specifically at the beginning of a New Year. If one has to change themselves, then why wait for the New Year? Why not now? On the other hand, others believe that the New Year is a time for a new beginning not only on their calenders , but for their not so ideal lives.So how to make sure that resolutions made are pursued as well? To begin with, there are three important characteristics that resolutions should be made according to in order to have a genuine basis for longevity.
- Realistic: The resolution should be practical and attainable. Hence, a resolution such as flying to the moon or earning millions of dollars could never be seriously pursued.
- Measurable: The possibility of determining for a fact that the resolution is being fulfilled in specific measurable data.
- Challenging: New Year's is a time to ameliorate old habits and achieve new goals. Hence, although resolutions should be attainable, they should not be too easy to accomplish. They should be somewhat challenging so as to give the individual a sense of achievement and satisfaction. For instance, enlarging one's social circle may be a good resolution. However, maintaining that circle till the end of the year seems like a better resolution since it is quite challenging.
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