NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS WEEK
As we ring in the New Year, New Year’s Resolutions Week sets forth encouraging goal making and life improvement as part of the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions.
You might be surprised to know that New Year’s resolutions go back 4,000 years. The first resolutions began with the ancient Babylonians. The promises they made to their gods to pay their debts and return borrowed objects were considered the first resolutions. If the Babylonians kept their word, they believed their gods would reward them with favor in the coming year. If not, they would fall out of favor.
The Romans practiced a similar tradition. They worshiped a two-faced god names Janus to whom they made promises of good conduct for the coming year. In fact, January is named after this god. For early Christians, New Year’s Day became a time to think about past mistakes and make promises to do better in the future. Today, New Year’s resolutions are usually a more secular tradition.
Some of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions include:
- Eat Healthier
- Pick up a new skill or hobby
- Exercise More
- Read more books
- Save more money and spend less
- Get organized
- Practice self-care
- Quit smoking
- Spend more time with family
- Travel more
- Get more sleep
- Learn a new language
- Spend less time on social media
While many people make New Year’s resolutions, most people have a hard time keeping them. Securing success comes with planning. First, prepare yourself for the change you want to make mentally. This includes taking a personal inventory and writing down goals you accomplished in the previous year.
Secondly, try not to make big changes. Set goals that motivate you. You might also need to limit the number of resolutions. And only work on a few at a time. Breaking big goals into smaller ones, writing them down, sharing your resolutions with others, and reviewing them regularly, will help you stay on track throughout the year.
HOW TO OBSERVE #NewYearsResolutionsWeek
The best way to participate is to write down some New Year’s resolutions. Learn about different strategies that will help you keep them. Ask your friends and family what their resolutions are and hold each other accountable for keeping them. If you truly want to improve your life, this first week of the year is a great time to start. Share your resolutions with others on social media with #NewYearsResolutionsWeek.
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS WEEK HISTORY
Gary Blair, the creator of the 100 Day Challenge, founded New Year’s Resolution Week in 2005 to remind us of the importance of our resolutions and of setting goals to stay on pace. He also established Youth Goals Education Week.