The Fallacy of New Year Resolutions

Making New Year resolutions has become our pastimes if not a hobby on each New Year day. Hardly do we achieve any if all of the resolutions or attain the set goals. And in most instances, some of resolutions are carried over from the previous years.

  Given that old habits are difficult to break overnight, it is not difficult to see why most of us will be in similar situation perhaps indulging in some of those vices we have tried to break to no avail. It gets worse, however, if addiction to something moves to the next phase making it hard to quit.

  But why is it success rate of quitting a habit lasts for a few days before one relapses to old ways again?

  Some of the resolutions made may require help from others other than going alone. Everybody, so it seems, has a strong willpower to do a thing but lacks the courage to do so. A lady who was an alcoholic for thirty years tells me each succeeding year, she would make the vow to quit the bottle and concentrate more on raising her family. And each New Year day, she would make same resolution but within a few days, she would hit the bottle hard.

  The problem, she says, was her continued association with drunkards who were her friends. The gradual dropping of these friends and cultivating relations with others in a different circle was to bring a breakthrough.

  To have a breakthrough, review your circle of friends and their influence.

   At a point, in observing our new resolutions, we get discouraged and easily give up. Before long, we are at square one having made little to no impact in attaining that objective we eagerly set to. Surprisingly, what would have been doable becomes difficult.

  There is nothing as discouraging as easily giving up!

  Resolutions entail more than doing away with certain habits to setting new goals. Each of us looks to advancing in our career positions than stagnating in one place each successive year. Organizations periodically do appraisals of their employees promoting them on merit basis. How do you make yourself promotable at your workplace?

  There are few ways to upskill yourself or advance on training in order to grow up in your career. We are living in a world of ever changing technological innovations that are defining how work is being done. Having mentors, taking evening classes or online tutorials is a way to go, as many organizations nowadays do not undertake to train their staff but will hire someone who will fit a specific role well.

  More importantly, ensure you cultivate a network with employees from different organizations to act as referrals where your skills may be needed as companies or organizations nowadays do not advert for vacant positions the traditional ways but relies on internal references.

  Certain resolutions, however, comes with a costly aspect that it is hard to actualize them. Take example of shedding off excess weight. Many hardly have access to fitness centres let alone membership in gyms. With limited time too, many still don't have time to exercise but this needs be not a point for worry. There are less expensive ways to do exercises than seeking membership in an expensive gym club.

  For those already observing the set points of their New Year resolutions, it is too early to celebrate anything. A simple glimpse on their resolution lists will likely give one a prolonged yawn. In other words, those resolutions will not be actualized before the year is out. They are unrealistic, lofty, simple points jotted down on a paper with no plan of executing them, except in dreamland!