About New Year's Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions are commitments people make to themselves to improve or change certain habits in the coming year. These resolutions are made either on December 31st or the day after, at the actual beginning of the New Year. Some resolutions, like losing weight or changing jobs, seem to repeat themselves across the world, despite time and culture.

History

The tradition of New Year's Resolutions seems to date back to the first century B.C., although the event had a more religious significance back then. Janus, the Roman God of Beginnings, was considered the ruler over the past and the future and was often visited by believers who wanted to entrust their future hopes to him. The name Janus is also the origin of the word January, which eventually became the traditional time for resolutions. Some modern religions have close connections to the idea of resolutions as well. For example, Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday, is a time to reflect about the year gone by and analize your mistakes and wrongdoings in the hope of improving them in the year to come.

Features

According to recent research and polls, the top 10 New Year's Resolutions, in order of importance, are: lose weight, pay off debt, save money, get a better job, get in shape, eat better, get a college's degree (or go back to school), quit drinking or smoking, reduce stress, take a trip.

Types

There are different ways to make New Year's Resolutions. Some people write them down on a notebook or print out a list, while others look up to the sky at night and whisper their resolutions to the wind. In some cultures, people write the resolutions down in small pieces of paper and then burn them at midnight on December 31st. In Russia, people put the small pieces of paper into a glass of champagne and then eat the paper.

Considerations

Experts agree that resolutions are more effective when written down on paper and broken down into small steps (Lose a pound a week), rather than as generalizations (Lose Weight). This could mean the difference between actually sticking to the resolutions and giving up by February 1st, which seems to be the most common alternative.

Potential

To make sure resolutions stick, personal coaches recommend a three-step process: make your goals small and measurable, so you can work towards them step by step; get started working on your resolutions right away (don't wait until next week, next month or after the holidays are over); don't get discouraged if you have a setback, but instead rethink your goals and keep going.