Are They Resolutions or Just Wishes?

Research shows that most of the time people aren’t successful at keeping their New Year's resolution. But that is because most of these midnight resolutions look more like pressure coming from the outside—an attempt to look better, relieve guilt, or meet the standards of others.

Losing weight, for example, is one of the most common New Year’s goals and one that people tend to do poorly at. Part of the reason for that is where it’s coming from! Often coming from peer pressure as opposed to a goal that’s something that you might truly value such as having more health or vitality.
If the goal is one that is not “authentic” and not really coming from your own values or interests, the energy for it fades fast.

Whether or not this annual ritual is followed, it is good to take a close look at yourself, evaluating possible areas of improvement. Are your resolutions based upon "what can I gain?"
Or, perhaps we can focus on what we might do to benefit others. Goals which are of personal importance and more fulfilling, thus are more likely to be persued to accomplishment! Perhaps we should work on what proves most satisfying and may also be what’s most needed in our society..... goals that involve giving to and serving others. The human soul has a natural tendency to behave in positive and beneficial ways. Richard Ryan, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Rochester tells us, “If you want to make a New Year’s resolution that really makes you happy, think about the ways in which you can contribute to the world."
In summary, successful resolutions are usually built upon reasonable challenges. If we set the bar too high we may become discouraged and quit. Keep in mind that with almost any long-range goal the best strategy is to set small incremental goals, as opposed to “I’m going to climb Everest” but rather “I’m going to take these first few steps toward base camp.”

We should give ourselves occasional moments of reflection, taking the time to really think about what’s going well for us and what really matters! Usually, we can identify some things we could change. Often that means listening to that little nagging voice inside telling each of us about the things that we know would improve our lives.




There are always ways to make life better, but the path need not be a painful one
....if you are going in the right direction.