Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
My first thought on New Year’s resolutions – leaping right out of experience and a dash of pessimism, my rationale straight up dismisses the concept of resolutions. More than 80 per cent of resolutions never see the end of the year.
Rather, February sees temperatures on the rise and motivation to stick to resolutions on a heavy decline. True story! Another true story – January sees the maximum number of fresh gym memberships.
I feel that this tapering of effort to fulfil resolutions lies in the fact that we set our expectations too high and lack realistic clarity while setting goals. We all want to begin the New Year by aiming to do something we have either never attempted or never been successful at.
In our pursuit to become better, we try to make such drastic “improvements” that they end up altering our entire lifestyle! Instead of developing passion and inspiration, we end up losing focus! Perhaps, it is wiser to set more realistic goals that are not that different from what we are used to doing in our lives – small steps that lead, eventually, to a greater outcome instead of choosing that particular outcome as a resolution.
That way, not only does one work towards their goal, but also, they get a periodical sense of fulfillment as they are able to achieve more – hence, remaining motivated for a longer duration. Moreover, one might even be better off periodically revising and checking oneself to make sure they are on track and if the goals are still relevant and feasible with respect to what life has to offer in that duration.
Drawing from this, I have decided to take tiny steps from January until April. I intend to reduce my screen time by fifteen minutes every day, take over the responsibility of tending to the plants in the balcony and setting the table at dinner time each night.
I feel that these small actions can help the rest of my family too and in April, I can check my progress and then decide what I should do next. I hope all of you had a great 2019 and I wish you a wonderful new year ahead! Here is to more adventure, good health, our families, friends and hopefully, more successful resolutions!
