Do not Let New Year's Resolutions cause added Stress
2022 - New Year - New You. Is that going to be at the core of your January or will these new goals and objectives just add unnecessary pressure to you life?
Every year just before the clock strikes 12. we have that voice in our heads telling us we will make dramatic and bold changes to our lives - join the gym, stop drinking alcohol, give up cake, take the stairs, keep a journal and so the list goes on.
A You Gov poll at the end of 2020 showed that overall, 12% of Britons made New Year’s resolutions for 2020, although this is fewer than half of the 27% who said they were planning on doing so when we asked in December 2019 possibly as a resultofthe pandemic. Resolutions proved most popular among the young; nearly a quarter (24%) of those aged 18-24 made a resolution compared to just 6% of the 65+ age group. Of those who made resolutions, only a quarter kept all of them (26%), although half managed to keep some of them (48%). Around a quarter failed entirely (23%).
So why do so many people fail to meet their New Year goals? Often the resolutions are too onerous and overwhelming, and sometimes unrealistic. According to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit.
Adapting to Change
Almost six months since Lockdown, almost six months when the Coronavirus became a reality in the UK, almost six months since we were ALL required to adapt to change.
In a country of almost 70 million people not everyone has been impacted by the pandemic in the same way, some more so than others, yet regardless of how different the experience may or may not have been, we were connected and united by the exact same thing.
The virus forced us to change in a way that we had never needed to and there was no “game plan” or rule book because there was nothing that anyone could compare it to. The Second World War perhaps with its global impact, but how do you fight something you can’t see?
365 Days to Fulfil those New Year's Resolutions
Today is the day to put down the cakes, slip on trainers and try to develop new habits. Or is it?
The 1st January 2020 is the first day of the rest of the year to fulfil all the promises that we intend to keep for ourselves. The diet, the dry January, learning a musical instrument , running a marathon - no, half-marathon - no, 5k, walking more and using the stairs less, becoming a vegan - no, vegetarian - no, pescatarian, learning another language, writing a novel - no, a poem, keeping a journal, saying “no” to chocolate and “yes” to fruit and veg, seeing more of Great Britain and it will be fun even in the rain, attending dance classes and learning how to throw pottery.