5 Important Things To Keep In Mind While Making New Year Resolutions This Year

The Truth About New Year Resolutions And Why My List Has 7!

It is that time of the year again when we all start thinking about the new year resolutions we want to make for the coming new year. Some want to be healthier, while others want to be more spiritual. Whatever your resolve, they all start with great enthusiasm that continues for the first few weeks in Jan, and then slowly, it loses steam. Don’t believe me read this article.

In my personal experience, there are five main reasons we cannot stick to our new year resolutions.

Why Do New Year Resolutions Fail?

1. Shiny Object Syndrome

Let me first explain this syndrome. The shiny object syndrome is when you always see something new and more exciting to do than what you are already doing. It’s similar to a child or an animal seeing something shiny far away, getting attracted to it, but losing interest in it as they approach it. The shininess disappears, and so does the interest in the object.

I have covered this in detail in 7 Harmful Habits You Need To Stop Now and one of the Habits we need to do away with.

So what has this syndrome got to do with your New Year’s resolutions?

Often, our resolutions are me-too resolutions based on what others are doing. Because we see so many of our friends talking about resolutions which sound fancy or in vogue, we get enamoured enough to take that up. These can be losing weight, say by Keto, seeking spirituality under fancy names, or taking up a hobby that may require your time and money.

In some cases, we may stay inspired to pursue these, while in many cases, slowly, the attractiveness of the activity fades away. And so does our resolve. And we question ourselves, “are New Year’s resolutions effective?”

Read on for the next reason.

2. Unrealistic Resolutions

While nothing is impossible, one must also understand that setting unrealistic expectations will lead us nowhere.

In the corporate world, we are supposed to be setting “’ SMART Goals”, where SMART stands for

S- Specific

M- Measurable

A- Attainable

R- Relevant

T- Time-Based

Therefore, for setting realistic goals, we need to be specific, i.e. I will lose 5 kgs in 3 months will be a more practical approach than just saying I want to lose 5 kgs.

3. Low Self-Confidence

While I may have set my goals, I have low self-confidence in achieving them. This is another reason why we make new year’s resolutions. We tend to push these challenging tasks to the new year, hoping that something will change in the new year and we shall achieve what we could not till now.

So, what will change? Nothing- if we don’t want to change. So, the change must start from us, which can happen anytime in the year and is not necessarily dependent on a date change.

The Biggest change in my life happened in the middle of the year. Read my story of Change here.

4. Procrastination

In this case, you want to push your goal as far as possible because, as a habit, you like to procrastinate. While a new year seems motivating,  a date change will not make a difference if you are in the habit of delaying things.

I am guilty of this myself. I have been procrastinating on writing blogs regularly after re-starting my corporate journey, and now that’s one of my new year’s resolutions.

5. Bite The Whole Elephant

Well, actually, the proverb is to” Eat An Elephant One Bite At A Time”. But most of us want to eat the whole elephant at one time, and the result is disastrous & demotivating. The same is the case with our new year’s resolutions.

Let’s break our goals into simpler actionable steps or milestones that can be tracked. Another approach can be to focus on the Inputs rather than the Output.

E.g., if I want to lose weight, I should break down my resolution into what activities I will do. These can be exercising for 45 minutes daily, finishing my dinner by 7 pm and so on.

Every time you achieve a milestone, you will get motivated to work harder towards your goal. Also, if we can accomplish these tasks every day, we are inching towards our goal slowly and steadily.

Keeping all the above in mind, I have made my list of 2023 resolutions.

My List Of Resolutions for 2023

Blogging Resolutions

I started my blogging journey when I was on a sabbatical, and now I am back in the corporate jungle. There are pressures of timelines and deliverables, and hence blogging has taken a back seat. While I am very passionate about my job, blogging gave me a new identity which I don’t want to lose, hence these resolutions.

1. Get Back to the Rhythm of Blogging Regularly

This is only possible if I schedule blogging as a part of my calendar, so it does not get pushed around. And this is exactly what I intend to do. I want to write at least one blog every month, if not more.

2. Continue To Write From My Heart

We all tend to get swayed by trends because we all need more readers and acceptance, especially in the blogging world.

I have been blogging now for 2.5 years and have written 60+ blogs. But the ones that resonate most with my audience are where I have written what I wanted to write rather than going with the trends.

These five blogs relate to the most important aspects of my life & got me maximum readership. Read them here.

7 Reasons Why This Is the Best Time To Adopt Yoga

7 Reasons Why It’s Important To Be Creative

The Ultimate Wardrobe Essentials You Need To Own Today

This Is What Happens When A Non-Dog Lover Gets One

5 Ultimate Friendships That Are More Important Than You Think

Work-Related Resolutions

This is my second set of resolutions and really important ones.

3. Network within the organisation

It always helps to create connections and know more people within the organisation. My current company gives me the opportunity to network with my colleagues across the globe, and I intend to take advantage of that.

4. Try To Learn Something New at Work

You have never learnt enough and must be committed to lifelong learning. So true to this, I would like to learn something new in the coming year. This can be how to use a new tool or a new platform… anything that adds to my repertoire of knowledge.

And here is the last set of resolutions.

Self-Care Resolutions

These are my 3rd Set of resolutions and, by far, the most important. If I can take care of these, I will be in a better state of mind to work on the other two.

5. Indulge in Something I Love Doing

I love painting & have been missing doing these because of my work schedule. However, I have been able to resume blogging but not painting. I have an unfinished painting and get regular reminders from my daughters to complete the same. Not being too ambitious, I am setting a goal to finish that one painting before I venture into something new.

6. Resume My Reading Habit

Blogging automatically results in you reading more content, whether it’s your fellow bloggers, self-help, or even current affairs. However, I have not been able to pursue my reading habit due to my work commitments. I probably need to start managing my time better so that I can pursue my reading habit

7. Give Back to the Society

I want to do something to give back to society. This a noble thought that has crossed my mind so many times, but I never pursued it, stating ” no time” as the reason. For these things, like your passion, you need to take time out, and that’s what I resolve to do in the coming year. Stay tuned to this blog to know whether I was successful or not.

To Summarise

So, friends, here are my top 7 and the list is “WIP” as there is no start date and end date for resolutions. Every day is the perfect day to set a goal, but it is essential to believe in it and take it through with honesty.

So Go ahead and make your resolutions, and don’t forget to share the tips to make resolutions with your family and friends.

A big Thank You to my sister Dr Minni Chadha for the 2023 artwork

Have a blessed, healthy and fulfilling 2023.

The truth about New Year Resolutions- My Practical Perspective.

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