New Year’s Resolutions: Failing since Babylonian Times

We have been making and breaking New Year’s resolutions since Babylonian times. Historians noted that the Babylonians started the tradition during their New Year’s festival, which actually began in late March. At that time, the holiday was a religious festival celebrated over 11 days in which the Babylonians made various promises to their gods in order to be looked upon in good favor throughout the year. As part of the tradition, Babylonians vowed to return borrowed items that year – hence the beginnings of resolution-making.

The Romans later adopted that same ideology, making similar promises and offerings of good behavior to their god, Janus, who became the ancient symbol of resolutions.

The concept of New Year’s resolutions has evolved over the centuries but the premise of behavior change remains unchanged. A poll of resolution-makers for the now ending year showed that 47% of those resolutions were in the self-improvement or education related area; 38% were weight related; 34% money-related; and 31% relationship-related (note: the numbers exceed 100% because of multiple resolutions).

Regardless of the millions of resolutions that are made annually, almost all of them are broken before the first half of the year ends…most of them fail by the end of the first week! So, why do we make them?

One school of thought is that the resolution implies there is something wrong with each of us and we need to fix it. That type of thinking is degrading to our self-esteem and further indicates that we are inferior, inadequate or bad. Downgrading oneself is a demeaning activity and often fails to motivate change at all. In that regard, it is no wonder most resolutions fail. Yet, we still have it in our heads that we need to “fix” ourselves.

Attorney Anna Rappaport wrote an essay in 2011 published in the Ankara Bar Review that pointed out the New Year’s resolution can be successful if we look at accepting ourselves as we are and simply apply a lifestyle change every year. She recommended a 10-step process to create a solid plan for reaching your resolutions…one that does not involve suggesting in any way that there is anything wrong with you today:

1. Set a specific and measurable goal with a clear timeframe. So, if your plan is to quit smoking, set a goal as to when you will accomplish this. If you plan to drop weight, set a specific goal: 10 pounds by March 1st.

2. Set an inspirational goal. Think about what inspires you most. If you want to be healthier, perhaps find an activity that will help you accomplish that: climb Pike’s Peak, walk the Appalachian Trial, run a marathon, and so on. The more personally inspiring your goal, the more likely you will achieve it.

3. Set a realistic time frame. If you want to write a book, it may not be helpful to say you will complete it by Jan. 2nd. Be realistic; yet keep the timeline short enough that it continues to motivate you.

4. Write a clear vision to keep yourself motivated and inspired. Use visual aids to write out your vision: a drawing, a collage, a written paragraph…whatever will keep you inspired. For example, if you wish to run a marathon, perhaps develop a collage of running pictures, courses you wish to run, etc.

5. Make lists of your current skills and resources. You already possess many skills that will help you accomplish your goal…it will help you to write them down. Post them on your refrigerator or send automatic messages to your smart phone to keep reminding yourself that you CAN accomplish your goal.

6. Determine what skills or resources you need. Like No. 5, write out what you need and include a step-by-step plan to acquire these. If you desire to learn a new language, perhaps that means obtaining a tutor or enrolling in classes.

7. Get support. Tell a few close friends or family members who can keep you motivated. These are the ones who are more likely to help you celebrate the successes you achieve along the way. For example, if your goal is to run a marathon and your first step brings you to a successful 10K, your support system can help you celebrate. No, it’s not your final goal, but it is a piece you have picked up along the way.

8. Set achievable milestones. These will help you track your progress to your final goal. If you desire to write a book, perhaps set deadlines per chapter and take time to celebrate those milestones.

9. Create rewards which motivate you. When you achieve your milestones, you certainly must celebrate. If your plan is to lose 50 pounds this year and you lose 10 by March, you need to reward yourself appropriately: perhaps tickets to a play or a shopping trip. Make sure the reward is appropriate. For losing weight, you are not likely to continue losing weight if you celebrate with a chocolate fondue.

10. Revise as needed. Sometimes you find you have become stale and may need to revise the original plan. This is not a failure, just a redirection. Let’s say that you were working on the marathon training and an unexpected work or family project prohibits appropriate training. So, modify your goal and set your sights on a half marathon for this year.

Using this 10-step process, you will not only succeed in achieving your resolution, but you will not degrade yourself and set yourself up for failure.

Regardless if you make a resolution or not, I wish you a very happy and healthy New Year!

 

Works used for this article:

Origins of New Year’s resolutions. (2014). Caledon Enterprise (ON).

Poll – New Year’s Resolutions. (2013). Fort Worth Business Press, 25(3), 2.

Rappaport, A. (2011). The problem with New Year’s resolutions. Ankara Bar Review, 4(2), 195-200.