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NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS: PROMISES TO KEEP
A Bright New Year
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January 1 marks the start of a new year, hence a celebration that we have
come to call as – what else? – New Year! The revelries actually start during
the last hours of Dec. 31, when people gather with their loved ones over a
New Year’s eve dinner. Some folks light up some fireworks to greet the
incoming year. Others spend it merrymaking, exchanging smiles and laughter
with the people around them. Others spend it in silence, contemplating on the
year that was and the possibilities of the year that will come.
Truly, a variety of customs is observed to celebrate the New Year. Some
people believe that jumping as high as you could come the first second of the
first day of the year, you’d get taller by that year’s end. Others believe
that making some noise would drive away the bad energies that may have
accumulated in the household.
Indeed, there are many customs being observed. One universal tradition for
New Year, however, is the undertaking of what many people call as New Year’s
resolutions. These are promises that would be for the betterment of yourself
which you would promise to comply with for the coming year.
Now, New Year’s resolutions have developed quite some notoriety for being
left unfulfilled. The problem, really, is that some people make resolutions
which are too difficult to satisfy. “I promise to become a millionaire by the
end of the year” is quite a hefty goal that needs further study. “I promise
to quit smoking” is not something you could accomplish overnight. “I promise
to never tell a lie anymore” is not as easy as it sounds.
For New Year’s resolutions to carry some weight, you should be able to come
up with doable ones. Start with something practical and possible… something
that you could actually accomplish. Here are some guidelines that could help
you prepare a list.
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Do you have a habit that is
unhealthy? Perhaps you could break down your desistance from the same into
step by step procedures. Make each step a resolution. You’d be surprised at
how effective this approach would be in keeping your New Year’s resolution.
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Do you have a personal goal
that you want to attain? Try to determine if it’s feasible within the year.
No one is pressuring you to accomplish the same, anyway. Devise a plan
beforehand, and set a timetable for each aspect. If the timetable is in
consonance with the coming year, make each aspect a resolution of its own.
Again, like the suggestion above, this would be a more effective approach
to keeping your New Year’s resolution.
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Have you pinpointed a
certain aspect of your character that you wish to improve? Try to determine
if this would be consistent with who you really are. No one knows yourself
better than you do. And you cannot just change who you are just like that.
Often, a personal change needs a conglomeration of a lot of factors,
beginning with introspection and a will to be better that should come from
deep within you.
New Year’s resolutions lose their meaning if we just blurt them out
without thinking about the same. They would then become an exercise in
futility, as a halfhearted promise is a promise that is as good as broken.
If you wish to effectuate a change in your life through the resolutions you
would deliver to greet the New Year, make sure that they are resolutions
which are not impossible to fulfill, and that they are resolutions which are
reinforced by a sincere desire to see them through.
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