Each year many people around the world busy themselves with preparing new year resolutions such as keeping fit, learning a new language, or being more organised at work even though very few people would see these plans through.
According to studies, among people who made New Year's resolutions, around 77 per cent stuck with their resolutions after one week, 43 per cent stuck with them after three months, and 19 per cent stuck with them for two years.
New Year's resolutions are often divided into three types. The wish to stop avoiding something such as the need to stand up for yourself when bullied at work, the wish to stop doing something that makes you feel temporary good like eating too many sweets and junk food. Or it is the wish to start doing something that doesn’t come naturally to you like keeping a journal or committing to regular exercise.
Psychologists suggest that understanding your behaviour is the first step toward making lasting changes. One needs to understand that some behaviours are often difficult to change because they serve a purpose in your life, at least in the short run.
This is why psychologists suggest reviewing your achievements from the previous year as this would give you the confidence to build on them. Remember to make smart goals. I know this may sound like a cliché, but goals need to be specific, measurable, relevant, and time-bound to be more achievable. Unlike objectives, New Year resolutions are often unrealistic and too vague to be achieved and sometimes are simply undoable.
Objectives are often related to your values in life which are things that are important for you and bring you happiness. Our values change as we grow older and progress through life so a young person would value success at work and getting a promotion even if that means spending long hours at work whereas an older person would value spending more time with family and friends and building lasting new relationships.
Some people confuse themselves by comparing their achievements to those of other people, so they think their colleague at work has a better car or their children are scoring less than the neighbour's child at school which makes them feel jealous and frustrated.
Such emotions are negative and can distract you from achieving your goals and make you feel unhappy with the good things in your life.
Some people consider pleasure as an important value so they keep chasing after it despite the negative consequences the person would spend the time partying instead of studying for their exams or overspend on goods they do not need just because they enjoy doing that.
Recent research showed that people who chase pleasure are more likely to develop depression, anxiety, and sometimes addiction. People who consider material success as a value often feel lost chasing the big villa, the fancy car, and the brand-new Rolex are not necessarily happy as recent studies showed that once you fulfill the basic needs in your life extra wealth does not increase happiness.
Finally, whatever values you choose to focus on, I wish you a happy and prosperous new year.
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