Ten feet snow drifts, the car is least likely to start and
we’re marooned at home. We’re so angry at ourselves for comfort eating so early
in the New Year that we calm ourselves down by going outside for a smoke. All
over Britain, a New Year resolution failure meltdown takes place, often as
early as 2nd January.
Back in December 2009, Richard Wiseman, a psychologist at
the University of Hertfordshire led this analysis. His team had asked 700
people about their strategies for achieving new year resolutions. Many of the
78% who fail in their plans are focusing on downside of not achieving goals, his
research found. Giving up smoking, gaining a better qualification and also a
better relationship were the top January targets.
Doomed to failure, most of ‘em, I would imagine.
How many of
us can be properly mentally prepared to succeed with our resolutions by a
specific date? However, I did manage to give up smoking in January 1977,
although I panicked, because I believed I was ready on December 26th
1976 and I worried about the spotlight of the first day of ’77, thwarting my
success.
The first recorded New Year's Resolutions were made by the
Babylonians around 4000 years ago.
(If the Babylonians are anything like me,
they probably meant to do it 4020 years ago).
Henry Moore ~ I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not
the year's.
Mark Twain ~ New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of
no particular use to anybody, save, as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and
friendly calls and humbug resolutions.
Then, there’s the advertisers of gym membership discounts
and the publishers of self-help books. We usually roll our eyes and tut, while
at the same time admiring those same advertisers for their enterprise and their
seizing the moment.
Why on earth am I writing about New Year resolutions in
April? After all,
anyone can write about New Year resolutions in January! Obviously, I am going for the creative high ground here. Although what that creative high ground is, perhaps I will know in January?
I am sure that April is a good month, however, to see how well we have done.
