New Years Resolutions: Can They Work?

Once again its that time of year, a new year is coming. Every year most people make something called a New Years resolution, but it usually doesn’t last. Maybe two or three months to the most, but then something happens. Two things kick in that keep us from keeping our resolutions; the first is called habit and the second is called life. New Years resolutions usually involve changing our habits and becoming a different person, thats what makes it so difficult. People like habit, most of us don’t like change, even if it’s good change. It’s not our fault, its just who we are, but that makes it all the more difficult to hold to our New Years resolutions. So I’m going to show you a few tips to keeping your New Years resolutions and changing for the better! But first lets start off with figuring out how this whole tradition of resolutions began.

History of resolutions

The tradition of New Years resolutions dates all the way back to 153 B.C., from our good friends the Romans. One of their gods, Janus by name, was the reason the tradition was started. See this god Janus, had two faces (don’t ask haha). For this reason, he was always put at the beginning of the calendar. He could not only look ahead to the next year, but he could also look back at the past, thus making him the perfect person to lead everyone into the New Year. To celebrate the god and the new year, every year on the very beginning of the year, the romans gave each other gifts. Somewhere along the line, someone must have come up with the tradition of giving a new them as a present to everyone and the tradition must have stuck. So that’s where we get the tradition of New Years resolutions.

Ways to Keep your resolution

One of the best ways to keep your resolution is to keep writing it down. It may sound like something that is useless or a waste of paper but it actually helps! By your bed or on your refrigerator, some place where you will always see it every day. For resolutions suck as losing weight, you can write down improvements and keep track of how you’re doing. The constant reminder of you resolution helps you be more aware of how you can achieve it. Before you know it, you’ll be finding ways in your everyday life that can help you become a better person! The second most useful method is to tell a close friend or relative that you talk to quite often. Ask them to keep reminding you to stay on track. Maybe they could ask you every time they talk to you,”How much did you eat today?” or “Go to the gym yet?”. The point is, constant reminders will help you stay on track and complete your goals. Any way you can keep reminding yourself of your resolution will help you accomplish it. Also, there are many online groups and communities that people with the same resolutions can join. Being with a group of people all going in the same direction helps you stay on track and keeps you motivated. Who knows, you may also meet some new friends in the process!