by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: December 30, 2008

There are some who say that the history of New Year's resolutions goes all the way back to Ancient Rome, when an image of the mythical King Janus - whom the month of January is named after - looking both backward and forward symbolised the start of the New Year. There are others who claim that the practise started in Scotland, like so many other New Year customs and traditions, several centuries ago. Whatever their origins, there can be no doubt whatsoever that New Year resolutions are the worst type of promises in terms of being kept that we ever make. Why should that be so?

I would suggest that the first clue is actually in the word "resolution." By definition, we are when we make a New Year's resolution promising to resolve an issue which we recognise as having a negative impact upon our lives. This of course covers a multitude of sins and could be anything from losing weight, to stopping smoking, to starting an effective financial budget and/or savings plan. It is about doing something which we perceive ourselves as having to do rather than wanting to do.

The second reason is in the magnitude of the resolutions we tend to make. They are essentially life changing events which we frequently resolve to tackle and perhaps too often we don't see them quite as such in advance. It is only when we start out - still with the best intentions in the world - to tackle these issues that we discover precisely what we have let ourselves in for.

The third and final reason I would offer for New Year's resolutions failing is the nature of the time of year at which they are made. It is for most of us a time of celebration, of joy, of making merry and partying, frequently to excess. We therefore tend to be in high spirits, perhaps somewhat less than sober, when we jump in at the deep end and promise ourselves to sort out "that problem" in the New Year. Is it therefore little wonder in this sense that our judgement of what precisely will be involved is a little bit impaired?

So having identified the problems with New Year's resolutions, how do we go about tackling them?

I would suggest that we have to put some serious thought in to any resolution we intend to make, well in advance. Think not only of what we wish to achieve but how we are going to achieve it. What will be involved in the process? What do we need to do to improve our chances of success and limit those of failure? In this way, we will have a far more realistic chance of not only keeping our New Year's resolution but - much more importantly - actually making the necessary change we have identified in our life.

Good luck with your next New Year's resolution...and Happy New Year!

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