7 ways of how (not)to keep your NEW YEAR resolutions

It is that time of the year when I am overly excited about my new year’s resolutions. This year something changed! My recent list was the same as last years and two more. None of them were fulfilled though. Such a shame!

Ashamed of myself, I searched on “Google” and “Bing” on how to keep resolutions. The more I read about the contents, the more I realised that those articles ought to be named “how not to keep resolutions”. From the bottom of my heart I knew, that by Jan 15th, the buzz would fizzle out on this topic just like my current state of excitement.

One of my resolutions was waking up at 5 am, after reading Robin Sharma’s book, three years ago- a resolution that has made the list since Covid scared the hell out of us.! Looking at the way my mornings are and hoping that his theory of 66 days of habit formation is true, I possibly will wake up at 5 am on April 5, 2023. Fingers crossed!

Gathering my vast experience of over 20 years of not keeping resolutions, I have come up with 7 lessons I learnt.

  • DON’T MAKE MILLIONS OF RESOLUTIONS and DON’T MAKE ONLY ONE: You have only 365 days and while you are reading this, some days have already gone by. I don’t know the ideal number; however less than 5 resolutions seem attainable. The problem with having only one resolution is that you might easily get obsessed with that one thing, forgetting to live your life.
  • WRITE DOWN YOUR RESOLUTIONS ON PAPER, LAMINATE IT AND PUT IT ON THE BACK OF YOUR PHONE, as the phone is the first thing you reach for when you wake up and last thing you hold before you go to bed! It is the best reminder possible.
  • BE SPEICIFIC and DRILL DOWN TO ATOM LEVEL: It is the best to have numbers connected to your goals. This year I am planning to read 36 books, that makes it 3 every month, about 10 days per book. Difficult? I don’t think so. I have already read 2 this year – Gulliver’s travels and Three musketeers from my son’s school to feel good.
  • THINK ABOUT THE HOW AS WELL. Just writing and laminating may not help. Think about how you are going to achieve your goals. If losing weight, which btw is a universal leader in resolutions, is one of your goals, also write down how you are going to lose. I have just written on the back of my phone “take stairs every day”. Hope the belly agrees.
  • RIDE ON THE HIGHS: Small achievements will lead to bigger ones. Completing two books already has made me venture into DISCOVERY OF INDIA (a resolution from the past year).
  • KEEP TRACK OF YOUR RESOLTIONS. At least once a month, go to your favorite restaurant or coffee shop and take stock, so that the restaurant gets some business and you will be in control of your goals.
  • BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO KEEP UP THE RESOLUTIONS: Act on the shame. I have been doing this for many years?

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023. After all it is just another day. YOU CAN ALWAYS BEGIN TODAY. 

Author: admin

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