January has come and gone with most people probably forgetting the resolutions they made on the first of the month. New Years resolutions are traditions that date back to Roman times.
The Romans celebrated the New Year by asking for forgiveness from their enemies and giving gifts to each other. They also saw these traditions as a way to close the door on the past and begin the coming year with a clean slate. While modern resolutions may differ slightly from the ancient Romans, the general premise of the tradition lives on today.
The most common resolutions involve health. Most people vow to go to the gym more, eat better or commit to some other method of losing weight. Several surveys showed that weight loss is still one of the most popular resolutions. Other common resolutions involve our work habits or personal matters. Promises to be better organized or to clean one’s apartment more often are examples of this category.
Still, others vow to change personality traits they dislike about themselves or try to reduce areas of stress in their life. Quitting smoking is a huge resolution that many attempt as part of their outlook for the New Year. Personal finances are also a big part of many resolutions. Paying off debt is probably the most common one, although some people could be saving up for a big purchase or a vacation.
The age-old problem with resolutions, however, is keeping them. Sure, it is easy to make them now but a month or two from now many will be long forgotten.
There is a multitude of self-help sites on the Internet dedicated to help keep resolutions for longer than a few weeks. Most recommend having a strong commitment to a resolution and monitoring the progress quickly. One site recommended typing up resolutions and taping them up somewhere accessible where you will see them every day.
Most sites state that people should track how well they are doing and encourage people to give rewards to themselves when they reach certain milestones.
Perhaps the biggest reward is letting both friends and family know so they can give support with the resolution. Perhaps now some of these tips will help ensure that this year’s resolutions last a bit longer than the average week.
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Posted to the web by Matt Schill
