New Year’s Eve is only a few days away. 2018 is coming! Right now people all over the world are thinking about what they can change in 2018.
New Years Resolutions are huge in the US and across the globe. An estimated 50% of Americans make resolutions. That means over 150 million people are deciding now what changes they want to make in their lives.
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Making resolutions for the coming year is not new. Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.
In the Medieval era, the Knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry. At watch night services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions.
Popular examples of New Year’s Resolutions include giving money to the poor, being more assertive and being more environmentally responsible.
Here are some other popular goals people have for the new year:
- Health: Improving overall health by exercising more, eating a more balanced diet, losing weight, quitting or reducing alcohol and cigarette use and getting rid of bad habits.
- Finances: Make smarter decisions with money, get out of debt and save more money
- Emotional Wellbeing: Be more optimistic, get more happiness out of life.
- Career: Perform better at work, get a new job, create a new business.
- Education: Improve performance at school, read more, study something new.
- Self Improvement: Improve social skills, spend time with family, spend less time online, spend less time watching tv, become more spiritual, play sports.
Here are some tips for picking the best new years resolutions for you and sticking to them:
- Make sure that your resolutions are not too vague. Also, your resolutions should be something that you actually want to change and not just something that society is telling you to change. Whatever resolutions you choose, you will need to have a realistic plan for doing them.
- Make sure that your resolutions are achievable. If you want to make more money this coming year, don’t set yourself a target that is 10 x higher than the amount you usually make in a year.
- Your resolutions should have specific time goals. For example, by February you want to have begun x, and by May you want to have completed x.
What are some new year’s resolutions that you have? Login to HearHearMeOut and let us know all your goals and dreams for 2018.
“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” Oprah Winfrey