Find a solution for your New Year’s resolution now
The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. And some people still have yet to find solutions to their resolutions.
The history of making New Year’s resolutions dates back to the time of ancient Rome. The Romans are responsible for the majority of the modern calendar and for the tradition of making resolutions on New Years.
This archived article was written by: Natalie Sandoval
The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. And some people still have yet to find solutions to their resolutions.
The history of making New Year’s resolutions dates back to the time of ancient Rome. The Romans are responsible for the majority of the modern calendar and for the tradition of making resolutions on New Years.
Celebrating the New Year has been a tradition for thousands of years and is arguably the oldest celebrated holiday. Although the date for New Year’s Day is not the same in every culture, it is always a time for celebration and for customs to ensure good luck in the coming year.
So why do we make resolutions? It was believed Janus, a mythical king of early Rome could forgive transgressions, and many Romans would give gifts and make promises at the beginning of the new calendar year so that Janus would see this and bless their life for the entire year. From then on we developed more of a modern turn on the idea.
As a result now at the beginning of a new year we kiss, get together with friends and family to celebrate and make resolutions that may never be fulfilled in hopes of improving the coming year.
Research shows that while 52 percent of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals, only 12 percent achieved their goals. Most people are coming up with new habits rather than breaking others.
One person not going along with that statistic is USU-CEU’s Jason Hall. Usually partying with friends for the evening, he decided to stay home and watch the ball drop this year, encouraging his new behavior approaching. He says he doesn’t usually make resolutions but due to getting in a little trouble he’s ready to start focusing and freeing himself of bad habits for the new year to come.
Another student determined to make her resolutions stick is Jessa Adams. Among the few in her list is her long-term pledge to check something off her bucket list.
The most frequent purpose for those hoping to make positive changes in 2011 is to lose weight, according to an online poll of over 5,000 people on 43things.com. The poll outcome showed that 1,057 people voted to “lose weight” as their number-one resolution, with “be happy” coming second. Editors Mae Goss and Kelli Burke-Gabossi are two others who coincide with that resolution, both are trying to make 2011 a better year by being happier.
The top 10 most popular resolutions are: to 1) Lose weight, 2) Be happy, 3) Save money, 4) Fall in love, 5) Get a job, 6) Read more, 7) Eat, drink, try or learn something new, 8) Quit Smoking, 9) Take a photo every day for a year and 10) Run a marathon.
If many people make resolutions, why is there a low percentage rate of people succeeding? There are certain things you can do to be sure to succeed with your resolutions.
The first is to make small realistic goals, don’t overload yourself with so many things that are out of reach. Be patient! Change is a process and won’t happen overnight. Another great resource is the people surrounding you, friends and family support is great to keep you going. The last helpful suggestion I can offer is to keep track of your progress, get a resolution journal and write your course of action.
If your resolution has run out of steam by mid-February don’t sweat, start over again. There’s no reason you can’t make a “New Year’s Resolution” any time of the year.
