See the old year out and the new one in!

Come round to mine over the festive season and you’ll see that my sherry glass is always half-full. No, I’m not a soak, nor am I an aged auntie. Actually, you probably won’t even catch me drinking sherry at all, but what I’m trying to say is that I consider myself a positive person (I was even tempted to insert a ‘smiley’ just then).

But before you freak out, don’t worry: I’m not going to start pumping you full of saccharine ‘Can Dos’. When it comes to New Year’s Resolutions, I’m in camp pro. That’s not to say I’ve fulfilled, stuck to or succeeded with every single one I’ve made, but I’m an advocator of the NYR. Here’s why…

Go With a Bang!

Generally speaking, most of us enjoy a good old knees up to see the old year out and the new one in. Unless we’re prone to missing Big Ben’s most important announcement of the year, we more or less go slightly ballistic as the clock strokes midnight. We’re partly logical beings (I say that so as not to discriminate against the more lateral artists among you) and – unless you’re a time bandit – do find ourselves marking anniversaries and what have you. Thus, with the fresh year rolling in, what better point of timely punctuation to get going with resolve?

Get Introspective

The early January lull is a great time to take time for a little introspection and self-appraisal. We all have things we’ve ‘been meaning to do’, skills we’d like to develop or gain, creative projects we’ve been mulling over but haven’t started yet or quite simply, day-to-day aspects of our lives we’d like to redress. What are yours and how and why would they enhance your life?

Look Back

Following on from the above point, NYRs afford one a good opportunity to evaluate the past 12 months: the good, the bad, the ugly; the spontaneous, the painstakingly planned; the great and the good; the ghastly and ghoulish. On my watch, this is a good and healthy thing to do, and with just 12 months to reflect over, the timescale you’re working with is easier to bookmark. What worked for you over the last year? What didn’t quite pan out as you’d have liked?

Set Goals

In terms of personal growth, NYRs are a good point of reference. Bet hey; be realistic. It might be one thing harbouring a yen to climb mount Kilimanjaro, but unless it’s an entirely feasible, don’t kid yourself and wind up disappointed with yourself. That’s just silly. And that’s not to rain on your parade – I believe anything’s possible with a jolly dollop of positive thinking – but drawing up a list of 20+ massive goals with a timeframe of 12 months is perhaps shooting too wonky. One, two or three things that are within your capacity to achieve is the way to go. What did you do last year, NYR or not, that you found entirely enriching?

And, just because I care, here are a few pointers and ideas on NYRs and how you can see them through…

● As I mentioned before, be realistic. It’ll only end up in dejection and low spirits if you start making plans to visit the moon (not literally, but go for your life if lunar travel floats your wotsit). For instance, the idea of running 5km each and every morning before work might seem like an attainable goal, but is it really? Don’t be masochistic – this is very important – but resolve instead to maybe run (because we’re using that as an example; you don’t have to do that if you don’t want to…) two or three times a week and, a few weeks down the line, see how it’s working for you. Oh, and the 5km bit? Baby steps to begin with. Perhaps aim for 5km runs if you so wish by June, if all goes to plan.

Aim for 5km runs if you so wish by June...

● Don’t go balls out on a massive list that you plan to embark on every single point come January 1^st. As in point four above, just one or a handful of things is plenty. After all, life doesn’t stop solely for NYRs, does it? There’ll still be only 24 hours in each day plus all the regular things you were doing last year.

● Don’t think that just because they’re NYRs they need to be started in January. In fact, it might even be kinder to yourself to aim to begin bigger life changes, like quitting smoking, rehashing your diet or focusing on your relationships in springtime. Or whenever you like. I might be writing bossy here, but there really are no rules. Just don’t lose the piece of paper you wrote your NYRs on for the sake of referring back to them…

● There are several classically top NYRs which, like Lent’s big give-up-chocolate thing, we tend to fall upon as good things to do but won’t stick to them for toffee: exercising regimes, diets, cutting out/down on alcohol, stopping smoking. Be totally serious about the NYRs you choose, as the larger life changes really do require commitment. And, using smoking again as a prime example, the number of us addicted to cigarettes who decide not smoking is the way to go for the new year will count our failed NYR attempt and judge ourselves negatively based on that, making quitting even tougher to do. So, basically speaking, ensure that your NYRs are not just empty lip service, be it to yourself or for the sake of making conversation with others.

● Following on from the above point, according to psychologists at the University of Hertfordshire, the reason why 78% of people who make resolutions bomb is because they focus entirely on the negatives: if it’s a diet that’s in the offing, it’ll likely be set off against overindulgence at Christmas. That’s pants. I mean, you wouldn’t start your new dream job bitching about the crapola salary you got in the last place you worked at, would you? Instead, focus on the future positive and forget the past negative: think along the lines of ‘This diet will boost my energy levels and I’ll feel more confident’ and not ‘I ate way too much over Christmas and really need to shift this weight I’ve gained.’ Get the positive picture?

Happy New Year, and happy resolve!