EVERYTHING ABOUT
NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS
Every week I am posting about everything you need to know about hormones. This weeks topic is about new years resolutions.
Did you know – new years resolutions
- May have religious roots
- The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago.
- Also the first to hold recorded celebrations known as Akitu in honour of the new year – though their new year began in mid-March, when the crops were planted.
- They made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed.
- Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus
- New Year’s Resolutions are a tradition, most common in the Western World
- In fact a 1951 study by sociologist Isidor Thorner found that the practice of making New Year’s resolutions was more common in countries with a strong Protestant influence.
- In 1951, New Year’s resolutions were thought of as a “tradition” in countries like Australia, England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and South Africa. While Latin American, Scandinavian, Asian and Eastern European countries didn’t recognize the tradition.
- Protestant values of “life-long emotional discipline as well as an attempt to live up to rigorous standards” influenced the spread of New Year’s Resolutions amongst Protestant nations
- As Protestant cultures became more secular, this tradition took on a more jovial tone, and eventually lost its religious connection
- Today it is something we do at the beginning of each year only to then feel guilty by February.
- A person commonly resolves to
- continue good practices
- change an undesired trait or behaviour
- accomplish a personal goal
- or otherwise improve their life at the start of a new year.
- Only 46% of people who make New Year’s resolutions are successful.
- So over 50% of the people who set a goal for the new year will fail
- 35% of participants who failed their New Year’s Resolutions admitted they had unrealistic goals
- 33% of participants did not keep track of their progress
- 23% forgot about them
- 1 in 10 respondents claimed they made too many resolutions
- New Year’s Resolutions are really goals you set yourself on new year’s eve
- Success for these new year’s resolutions will follow the same principles of goal setting / achieving
- Goals must be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed – see the article on SMART goals in this blog
- Only 2 questions you need to ask yourself when setting a goal – Can I? & Will I?
Meet Sally and get to know all about new years resolutions
Intro
Suggestions for new years resolutions
Smart goals
Resolve for MORE in 2022
Suggestions for New Year’s Resolution
- Start a journal – write to yourself.
- Give more compliments.
- Put your bills on autopay.
- Send more cards.
- Make a movie bucket list.
- Practice saying ‘no’!
- Take a social media break – start with 1 day and build up to a week.
- Try a spending Freeze.
- DIY something special – be creative
- Set SMART goals – see the article in this blog
- Learn a new skill.
- Get a full night’s sleep.
- Join a club.
- Reduce your single-use plastic consumption – be kind to the environment
- Create a savings plan.
- Make the habit of checking your bank account daily.
- Become an early bird.
- Read more – scroll less.
- Make time to catch up with friends and family.
- Choose the stairs.
- Drink more water.
- Be more mindful about your health.
- Establish to a cleaning schedule.
- Don’t let your laundry build up.
- Clean out your closet or cupboards – feel the weight lift from your shoulders as you de-clutter.
- Book your regular doctor’s and dentist check-up appointments for the year.
- Walk more.
- Do your dishes immediately.
- Try a new healthy recipe each week.
- Schedule monthly car washes.
- Donate your time.
- Make time to be mindful.
- Drink less alcohol.
- Lift weights – High intensity strength training.
- Travel somewhere new.
- Consider a coaching session.
- Check an item off your bucket list.
- Go green – become a plant owner.
Top New Year’s Resolutions
Twitter attempted to establish this list based on users’ tweets.
- Diet, exercise and weight loss
- Read more
- Learn something new
- Save money
- Be a nicer human
- Get a new job
- Give more time and money to charity
- Drink less – dry January has become very popular.
- Sleep more
- Make new friends
What’s your New Year’s resolution this year?
And how long do you think you’ll keep it up for?
New Year’s Resolutions Around the World
Google Maps project Zeitgeist in 2003 invited internet users from around the world to share their resolutions.
The results were Google mapped and analysed and broken down into the following categories:
– health
– love
– career
– finance
The Results
- US and Egypt
Health-related resolutions predominated. - Australia and Japan
Were looking for love - Russia
Had education as their top priority - India
Career goals were most important.
My New Year’s Resolutions
- Do the run test to establish my level of physical fitness – SEE MY ARTICLE ABOUT MEASURING HEALTH
- 5-mile / 2.4-kilometer run or jog
- Woman Aged 65 or above 17.5 minutes or under
- 5 squats or lunges every 30 minutes (or 60)
- Finish my showers with cold water
- Find a personal trainer to push me through my paces to build muscle and bone strength (preferably good looking, single male).
Resolve for MORE – not less in 2022
Are you looking at making a new year’s resolution based on
- What needs fixing?
- Which ‘bad’ lifestyle behaviours need changing?
How about a Change in Mindset?
- What if we focus on the things that bring us joy, meaning and happiness?
- What if we do More of these things?
- We all need and deserve more good right now, lets face there are restrictions everywhere we look
Think
- What can I add to my life that would make next year More joyful?
- What can I add to my life so I can grow, evolve and flourish?
Check these ideas for getting More rather than less out of 2022
More Self-compassion
- Be More kind to yourself.
- Pamper yourself – take More ‘me time’
- Set More boundaries with the energy vampires in your life.
- Show yourself More grace and understanding
- Self-compassionate individuals experience
- More happiness
- More positive body image
- Better relationships with romantic partners
- Fewer negative emotions
- Less depression and anxiety
- Limit negative self-talk and limiting beliefs
- Develop More mindfulness skills
More Music
- Listening to More music and feel the enjoyment
- Learning to make music is an amazing therapy
- Learn or re-learn to play an instrument.
More Sleep
- We all know how important sleep is – CHECK MY BLOG AND SHOW ABOUT SLEEP
- Retrain your circadian rhythm with
- More consistent bedtime routines
- More bright light (natural if possible) immediately you wake and open the window for More oxygen
More Squatting & Lunges
- Incorporate More squatting / lunges into your day
- Break up periods of inactivity, ie. sitting on a chair or sofa with 5 – 10 squats / lunges
- Aim for every 30 minutes or More
- Hey, it may can even help you poop More
More Sunshine
- This is an easy one – get More sun
- Commit to getting out and moving the sunshine every day, such as
- Eat outside – such as lunch in the local park
- Work outside – such as walk and talk meetings
More Discomfort
- Growth happens when we step outside of our comfort zones.
- Think about activities that scare but excite you
- learning something new
- sign up for your first race
- Use extreme temperature variations for hormetic stress benefits, such as
- Become a winter bather
- More cold water at the end of every shower
More Green
- Houseplants can help reduce stress and negative emotions.
- More house plants in your home and workspace.
- Plant a little garden – gardening is incredibly therapeutic,
- Maybe just paint a wall green which will encourage feelings of peace and harmony, even creativity
- Get More green exercise, ie exercise in parks, forests
- The Japanese practice shinrin yoku, which means forest-bathing, ie. slow walks through forests or parks – but hey you’ve got to be present, no smart phones.
Steps to Support your New Year’s Resolution
Be Mentally prepared
- Changing ingrained habits is no easy task
- Stay positive
- Small steps – change should be gradual
- Build on smaller changes
- Allow room for error
Set a Goal that motivates you
- Don’t let other set your goals
- Must be Your goals, Your priorities, Your dreams, Your aspirations
Limit resolutions to a manageable amount
- Too many and spreading yourself too thin will end in failure.
Set SMART goals
- See the article on SMART goals in this blog
Break up Big Goals into Smaller Goals
- Daily, weekly, monthly
Write down your goals
- So you don’t forget.
- Writing helps clarify what it is really you.
- Writing establishes intention.
- Writing acts as a reminder to take action.
- Writing acts as a filter and guiding light.
- Writing reminds you how far you have come, what you have achieved.
- Write them in a journal
- Write them in an email to yourself
- Print and tape to the fridge or wall, so you can read them every day
Create a sense of Obligation
- Share your resolutions with others
- Declare your intentions on a Facebook post
- But don’t let ‘do gooders’ alter or change your goal – remember its your goal, your dream, your vision
- Find kindred spirits with similar goals
- Meet-up regularly with kindred spirits – weekly or monthly depending on level of commitment
- Share setbacks and progress
- Help each other stay motivated
Automate reminders
- Google / Outlook Calendar – set a recurring reminders to keep you focused on your resolution schedules, ie workout sessions at the gym, etc.
Regular Reviews
- Minimum monthly, but the more frequent the better.
- Put it in the automatic reminders
- Do a weekly check-in to check progress on the monthly goal.
- Set a daily reminder for smaller resolution tasks.
If you fall off track, get back on track again as quickly as possible
- Rome was not built in a day.
- Plan to fail every now and again
- A moment of weakness is not important in the grand scheme of things
- Missing a goal by 10% , even 80% or finishing late is not failure
- On the road to success there will be many failures
Stay positive and focus on the end result, feel it, taste, smell it, sense it in all ways, know that it is yours and pull yourself up.
SMART Goals
SMART is the acronym for:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic – for you
- Timed or Time Sensitive
How to achieve SMART Goals
- Start small and specific
- Write it down – 42% chance you’re more likely to achieve it
- Check your progress regularly – are you still on track?
- Don’t let fear hold you back – fake it until you make it
- Celebrate every win on your journey, especially the small ones
Example of a SMART Goal for Health
- Lose 2 pounds per week for the next 8 weeks.
- Do this by
- Walking for 30 minutes a day x 5 days a week,
- Limiting carbs to 30g per meal
- Following a Time Restricted Eating program, only eating between 10am and 6pm x minimum 3 days a week.
Specific
Both weekly and daily goals make it specific.
Measurable
8 numbers in this goal make it measurable.
Attainable
Rather than aiming for diffuse “weight loss,” setting pounds in numbers keeps the goal attainable.
Realistic
Think long-term weight loss, 2 pounds per week is doable for most people making it realistic.
Timed
Weigh-ins each week to see if 2 pounds are lost and the timing is appropriate.
Setting Goals using the Law of Attraction
Step 1: What do you want?
- Use your imagination, dream freely about the things you desire, don’t let your paradigms and conditioning control you.
- Napoleon Hill said “Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements”
- Ask yourself 2 questions Can I? and Will I?
Step 2: Express your goal as if you’re already are in possession of it.
- ’I am so happy and grateful now that I………..’
- Write it down
Step 3: Set a deadline for when you have completed your goal
- Important to create a sense of emergency
Step 4: Maintain focus
- Review your goals daily.
- Use Vision boards, Goal cards, Affirmations,
- Visualise yourself with or reaching your goal
- Visualisation leads to materialisation.
- Get emotional about your goal feel how you will feel when you reach your goal
- Fake it until you make it
Step 5: Be ready to take action
- The Laws of Attraction will attract people, events and possibilities into your life, which will lead you closer to your goal.
- Don’t wait, don’t second guess – just do it.
Step 6: Do 2 things differently every day
- Use another route to get to work
- Eat lunch at a different place, a different table.
- Etc, etc
Step 7: Be persistent
- Never give up
- You will fail, before you succeed.
- Henry Ford said “Failure is merely an opportunity to more intelligently begin again.”
- Remember – YOU are a genius with unlimited potential.
The Only 2 Things to Ask when Setting Goals
Can I?
Am I physically able to achieve my goal – Yes you are
Will I?
Am I willing to do everything necessary to achieve my goal. Unfortunately most people are not.
Questions? Please don't hesitate to contact me
