Do you make a new years resolution

[EmmaLouiseSmyth]

I think it's best not to make a list of things I'll never complete. It makes me feel like less of a failure by the end of the year :cheesy:

[mc_squared]

Numerous surveys and polls have demonstrated that if you are planning to start or stop doing something, the turn of the year is the worst time to set the wheels in motion.:smug:

[Ireentje]

I only make them if I think I can stick to them. Some successful ones from the past couple of years have been not drinking for a year (check) and becoming a vegetarian (check, lasted 7 years). For this year it's losing some weight, so hopefully I'll stick to that one too :)

[Prince Myshkin]

I don't get people who pretend they don't realise the significance of a changing year, as if January 1st is the same as some Tuesday, so why can't we make Some Tuesday Resolutions? It's great if people are so incredibly independent that they won't let their life be run by a stupid little calender, but surely we can see that there's no better time within a year to make changes in your life, as the year literally changes.

 

I disagree. There will be nothing radically different on January 1st than on July 1st, other than the weather. Why is it a good time to make changes? Make changes when they need to be made, surely.

[Reilly]

Numerous surveys and polls have demonstrated that if you are planning to start or stop doing something, the turn of the year is the worst time to set the wheels in motion.:smug:

 

Yes but we've seen the polls and surveys you post, total nonsense. Let me guess, they calculated that they were 17000% more resolutions broken in January then on April 23rd. FACT

 

I disagree. There will be nothing radically different on January 1st than on July 1st, other than the weather. Why is it a good time to make changes? Make changes when they need to be made, surely.

 

When they need to be made? ALWAYS? So someone starts smoking, instantly realises it's unhealthy and stops straight away, like a robot. Or someone goes an ounce over what they consider to be overweight, so they go for a jog, problem solved.

 

Resolutions are for those of us normal people who develop bad habits or perhaps don't focus as much on our good ones, and let time go by doing so, the New Year then is the best time of the year to re-evaluate what you're doing and make a positive change in your life. Clearly you don't do this as anything that needs to be changed in your life is instantly stamped upon like a fire and vaporised, but normal people like to set goals for themselves, maybe a handful and they'll complete one of them.

 

And I think you're looking too far into it as changes that are 'necessity' rather then preference, it doesn't need to be resolutions like 'STOP THE KILLING' maybe just reading more, it's not something anybody NEEDS to change in their life but if a New Year helps, then use it. I don't see why it hurts anyone to have resolutions, sure, probably most people break theirs, who knows, but even if some stick its better then nothing.

 

As for why it's the best time of year? Because pretty simply, it's a new year, new number, we look back on things we've done during this year, not last, and generally a lot of other people talk about resolutions and changing at this time of year. So even if 'its a new number' is kindof a stupid excuse that doesn't work for you, it's at least a reason, more reason then July 1st. So yes, January 1st may not give anyone special powers to change, but obviously it's still the best time of year to set down aims and goals.

[Gitta Rensolo]

not really.....for me nothing will chang ein January.....the big change will come in summer when I have finished my apprenticeship ......there are only things that I hope for...like finding new friends, an occupation/ something at uni I actually enjoy doing and the best case would be to fall in love finally...

[Alice]

^^ :laugh3: what a passionate reply ! Because some people don't personally feel like they need the new year to try to achieve what they want for their lives (and it can be small things, nobody ever said the contrary) doesn't mean they're saying that it hurts anyone to have resolutions if it helps them :thinking:.

The "normal people" remark made me lol too. It looks like you somehow think that it's pretentious to say that you don't make new years resolutions. It's pretty silly!

[Reilly]

Of course for people who have a dramatic change coming up in their life soon, like starting university or moving country, then yeah that's probably a good time to focus on positive changes in yourself as a person.

[mc_squared]

I disagree. There will be nothing radically different on January 1st than on July 1st, other than the weather. Why is it a good time to make changes? Make changes when they need to be made, surely.

 

Exactly. Anyone that allows themselves to be dictated to by "dates" clearly has no mind of their own.

It's a bit like feeling it's necessary to buy Christmas presents for 60 cousins because you're worried they'll think less of you if you don't. Totally irrational behaviour.:dozey:

[Reilly]

^^ :laugh3: what a passionate reply ! Because some people don't personally feel like they need the new year to try to achieve what they want for their lives (and it can be small things, nobody ever said the contrary) doesn't mean they're saying that it hurts anyone to have resolutions if it helps them :thinking:.

The "normal people" remark made me lol too. It looks like you somehow think that it's pretentious to say that you don't make new years resolutions. It's pretty silly!

 

I'm not even making any resolutions, can't recall the last time I did. I'm pretty much saying that clearly the New Year is the best time to make changes in a persons life, I don't really get why it couldn't be. It's just a memorable date, January 1st, the 1st day of an entire New Year. If you quit smoking, you will know on June 1st that you've gone 6 months without smoking, that's encouraging and pushes you to stay off cigarettes. If you quit smoking on August 23rd, within a few months you'll only have a rough idea of when you quit.

 

The "normal people" remark was sarcastically referring to Greg saying that we should simply make changes when they need to be made, which I thought is a pretty silly thing to say so I kinda ran with it.

[Reilly]

It's a bit like feeling it's necessary to buy Christmas presents for 60 cousins because you're worried they'll think less of you if you don't. Totally irrational behaviour.:dozey:

 

Who did that?

[mc_squared]

^^ :laugh3: what a passionate reply ! Because some people don't personally feel like they need the new year to try to achieve what they want for their lives (and it can be small things, nobody ever said the contrary) doesn't mean they're saying that it hurts anyone to have resolutions if it helps them :thinking:.

The "normal people" remark made me lol too. It looks like you somehow think that it's pretentious to say that you don't make new years resolutions. It's pretty silly!

 

I agree. There's no such thing as a "normal" person, anyway. No two people are alike, and to suggest that some people are "normal" and some aren't, is extremely

patronising.:dozey:

[Gitta Rensolo]

I see a point in making a resolution on the 1st january like stop smoking or something like that....if it helps you to set a date for it then the 1st january could be a good one....so it is ok for things like that....I have never done it though and I don't think that I will and I am not even sure if it works, because you really have to want it.

 

 

I have a super stupid question:

Is there actually a difference between a resolution and an aim?

Because the things I have mentioned in my post before....they could be a resolution and an aim..

?

 

Do resolutions have to start on the 1st of January?

[mc_squared]

I'm pretty much saying that clearly the New Year is the best time to make changes in a persons life, I don't really get why it couldn't be.

 

It's because from a psychological point of view, people making these resolutions on 1st January are far more likely to be doing it to follow some meaningless "tradition" rather than because they really want or intend to do it.

It's yet another example of "sheep" syndrome.:dozey:

[mc_squared]

?

 

Do resolutions have to start on the 1st of January?

 

That's the whole point. The date should have nothing whatsoever to do with it.

[Gitta Rensolo]

if you decide on the 30th of decmber that you really really really want to stop smoking then the 1st of January is a good date

haha

[Gitta Rensolo]

That's the whole point. The date should have nothing whatsoever to do with it.

 

I am actually being serious....

 

Isn't it possible to say "I want to stop smoking this year" as a resolution or does this make it an aim?

 

I feel kinda stupid right now....because I have always called these things a "resolution" (and I never set a date)....so I was totally wrong all these years...

 

I am confused

[Reilly]

It's because from a psychological point of view, people making these resolutions on 1st January are far more likely to be doing it to follow some meaningless "tradition" rather than because they really want or intend to do it.

It's yet another example of "sheep" syndrome.:dozey:

 

Mark do you mind, the adults are talking.

[mc_squared]

New year's resolutions doomed to failure, say psychologists

 

Many of the 78% who fail in their plans are focusing on downside of not achieving goals, research finds

 

Monday 28 December 2009

• Article history
  

Resolutions, including giving up smoking, can fail if they are impulsive. Photograph: David Sillitoe/Guardian It's part of the new year ritual – an annual attempt to start afresh and turn over a new leaf. But making resolutions is a near pointless exercise, psychologists say. We break them, become dispirited in the process and finally more despondent than we were before.

Less than a quarter of those asked for a university study had managed to stick to their resolutions. Of those who failed, many had followed the spurious advice of self-help gurus – which almost guarantees disaster, apparently.

Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, who led the analysis, said he and his team had asked 700 people about their strategies for achieving new year resolutions. Their goals ranged from losing weight or giving up smoking to gaining a qualification or starting a better relationship.

Of the 78% who failed, many had focused on the downside of not achieving the goals; they had suppressed their cravings, fantasised about being successful, and adopted a role model or relied on willpower alone.

"Many of these ideas are frequently recommended by self-help experts but our results suggest that they simply don't work," Wiseman said. "If you are trying to lose weight, it's not enough to stick a picture of a model on your fridge or fantasise about being slimmer."

On the other hand, people who kept their resolutions tended to have broken their goal into smaller steps and rewarded themselves when they achieved one of these. They also told their friends about their goals, focused on the benefits of success and kept a diary of their progress.

People who planned a series of smaller goals had an average success rate of 35%, while those who followed all five of the above strategies had a 50% chance of success, the study found.

"Many of the most successful techniques involve making a plan and helping yourself stick to it," Wiseman said.

Making new year resolutions at the last minute can backfire, he warned, because such decisions tend to be less genuinely motivated. "If you do it on the spur of the moment, it probably doesn't mean that much to you and you won't give it your all. Failing to achieve your ambitions is often psychologically harmful because it can rob people of a sense of self control."

Other strategies that helped people to achieve their goals included making only one resolution at a time and treating occasional lapses in the plan as just temporary setbacks.

[Prince Myshkin]

When they need to be made? ALWAYS? So someone starts smoking, instantly realises it's unhealthy and stops straight away, like a robot. Or someone goes an ounce over what they consider to be overweight, so they go for a jog, problem solved.

 

Resolutions are for those of us normal people who develop bad habits or perhaps don't focus as much on our good ones, and let time go by doing so, the New Year then is the best time of the year to re-evaluate what you're doing and make a positive change in your life. Clearly you don't do this as anything that needs to be changed in your life is instantly stamped upon like a fire and vaporised, but normal people like to set goals for themselves, maybe a handful and they'll complete one of them.

 

And I think you're looking too far into it as changes that are 'necessity' rather then preference, it doesn't need to be resolutions like 'STOP THE KILLING' maybe just reading more, it's not something anybody NEEDS to change in their life but if a New Year helps, then use it. I don't see why it hurts anyone to have resolutions, sure, probably most people break theirs, who knows, but even if some stick its better then nothing.

 

As for why it's the best time of year? Because pretty simply, it's a new year, new number, we look back on things we've done during this year, not last, and generally a lot of other people talk about resolutions and changing at this time of year. So even if 'its a new number' is kindof a stupid excuse that doesn't work for you, it's at least a reason, more reason then July 1st. So yes, January 1st may not give anyone special powers to change, but obviously it's still the best time of year to set down aims and goals.

 

I still disagree. I don't really have anything else to say either, but I'm not saying people shouldn't make resolutions. I just don't, nor do I see a point. Other people can, that's fine of course.

[Reilly]

I've always understood you aren't into it, because you don't see why the changing calendar would make a difference for you, but I don't really get anyone who doesn't understand how the start of a new year is the best time to commit to changing something in their life for a lot of people. I also don't make New Years resolutions but if there is going to be a time of the year to re-evaluate yourself, I certainly think January of a new year makes a lot more sense then some random date you'll forget. Some people need that kindof belief in organisation to make it clear in their own mind, eg- 2011, the year of no more _____.

[mc_squared]

Some people need that kindof belief in organisation to make it clear in their own mind, eg- 2011, the year of no more _____.

 

That's the big problem with sheep syndrome.:dozey:

[AdrianaRM]

I make it mentally. Does it count?

[lovers.in.nj]

I make one and then halfway through February I give up and resolve that next year I will keep my resolution :P

[Reilly]

That's the big problem with sheep syndrome.:dozey:

 

What exactly is your problem with THIS now?