But, a New Year’s resolution is not an ironclad to-do list, if anything it is a compass or a benchmark, signs to let you know that you are on the right path. For every stage, there is always the next step, and you get to ask and answer, ‘What is the next step for me?’ ‘What do I need to do?’
There is a reason why we are not living our lives in an infinite time capsule until we fall down and die. There are times and seasons for a reason. There is day and night, rain and heat, winter and fall in other climes.
Every new year we ask ourselves, what are we going to do? What bad habits are we going to break? What new habits are we going to form? How can we create the life that we always wanted?
New year resolutions are not die-hard vague promises you make to yourself like, ‘I’m never going to drink alcohol again” “I am going to exercise more.” It’s a guide, a compass, actionable steps, full of accountability, hope, and willpower.
Even if you retrogress at some point, you can always begin again.
Of course, many people ask, you don’t have to wait until a new year to resolve, but we forget the beauty of new beginnings, of putting the past behind us, of starting afresh. Realistically, nothing changes except that the earth begins another orbit around the sun and it’s a continuation of our lives but what a New Year does, is it gives you time to stop and then to plan.
A lot can change in your life in a year but you can’t just wait for life to happen to you, you must plan, hope, dream and execute ruthlessly.
How to go about setting your New Year’s Resolutions? Think about What do you want to achieve? What do you want to end the year feeling proud of? If you’re guilty of setting resolutions that you don’t stick to, making promises to yourself that you forget about all too quickly, here are 3 reasons why setting them and keeping them are so important! (Remember them when you feel like giving in!)
It will help you become who you want to be
Want to be the person who can sign up for a marathon and look forward to completing – and be smiling when you cross the finish line too? Then it’s important that you set yourself a New Year’s resolution to help you become that person. Setting yourself a resolution is a good way to help you reflect on what’s important to you, clear your mind and focus on who you want to become.
It can provide stability
We don’t know what our plans are for next weekend, let alone what they will be in five year’s time. Yet actually, having some idea of where you want to be can help you make the right decisions in life. Make a New Year’s resolution for 2017, just a small one, and you can use it to help guide you along the right path when you’re struggling to make a decision.
It can drive you
How many times have you thought to yourself, “I won’t drink Monday – Friday!”, and then found yourself sharing a bottle of Merlot with Gabby from Accounting on a Tuesday evening? Yep, we’re right there with you. Just think, if you set yourself the goal to not drink on a weekday for a month – or even two months! – at the same time that everybody else is setting their personal goals, you’ll have the support and encouragement of everyone around you to help drive you to achieve yours!