Why New Year’s Resolutions Matter

Sebastian Knowles
Nov 7 · 4 min read

Lost in the festive celebrations of Christmas and the New Year, the idea of making and keeping New Year’s resolutions seems to have been lost in recent times or at most turned into a cursory thought for many.

The tradition of New Year’s Resolutions can be traced back as far as 4,000 years, a tradition practiced by the ancient Babylonians whereby individuals would make promises to the gods. Today, the tradition is more secular than religious and resolutions are now made with a focus on self-improvement.

However, even after 4,000 years of practice, it seems we still aren't any better at mastering our New Years Resolutions. According to a recent poll, as many as 45% of Americans say they make New Year’s Resolutions while only 8% of them actually achieve their goals.

Again, we are now nearing the end of the year and this is a time for reflection on the past year and an opportunity to plan for the following year. It’s a time to assess where you are in your life, a time to realize life is short and there isn’t enough “time” to get everything we want done. So, for that reason, we need to prioritize what we want to do in this short period of time we have left.

It’s for this reason, New Year’s resolutions matter and are a very important ritual in our lives.

What does your Future Hold for 2020?

Here is the thing — You get to decide. Believe it or not, you are in complete control over your future and how 2020 turns out for you. Nothing of significant was randomly or haphazardly put together, so why should your life be random or haphazard?

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As we near the end of this year, it’s time to once again bring our thoughts to our successes, failures lessons learned and how we can take these experiences and learning and make the best of them in the upcoming year.

New Way to Look at New Years Resolutions:

The more focus, attention, and intention you give your New Year’s resolutions the higher chance you will have of achieving them.

Is your New Year’s resolution to eat healthier? Want to Exercise more? Maybe you are looking to save more or spend less? Or learn a new skill or take up a new hobby? How about stop smoking or drink less? There is no shortage of ways we can improve ourselves this year.

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It doesn’t matter what you choose as your New Years Resolutions — If you approach it the same way you did last year, you will get the same result.

So, if you are serious about making a change in your life, New Year’s Resolutions are an excellent opportunity during the year (and great yearly ritual) to get into — However, you need to do it differently then you did last year, otherwise, you will get the same results!

My Approach to New Years Day:

I’d like to share with you my approach to New Year’s Resolutions and would encourage you to do something similar. For me, New Year’s day is not a day of recovery from a hangover. Rather it’s a day of quiet reflection where I spend half the day in contemplation and reflection over the past year. I look into detail what I have done, what I have learned and at my core what it is I really need to do to grow for the next year.

This is the one day I use to plan the year. Taking 1-day to plan your future — In my mind, that’s an investment that pays back dividends in spades.

Are You Ready to Start Living?

We live in a world full of noise. There is nothing but distractions to take us away from our real dreams and desires. The first step is deciding what you want. The second step is staying focused on your dreams and desires and not letting the noise or distractions take you away from your life mission.

I can’t think of anything more important than taking back control of your own life and crafting it into the life of your dreams. It can all start with taking the time and to carefully craft your New Year’s Resolutions.

Carpe Diem,

Sebastian

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