New Years Resolution
The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. When Janus, a mythical king of early Rome, was placed at the head of the calendar. January being the month ruled by Janus. With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts at the beginning of each year.
Today, many people still make resolutions in January and try to make a new start in the new year. These resolutions have a reputation for not coming to fruition. How can we, in this new year, increase our chances of keeping our resolutions? Here is some advice gleaned from many professional sources.
Give them some meaning. People sometimes make goals that aren't necessarily meaningful to them. Your goal should be something you really desire to change or achieve, not something that society says is good for you to do or your family members would like to see you do.
Plan to keep your resolution Setting a goal without formulating a plan is merely wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, (as the word "resolution" implies), it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. A good plan will tell you A) What to do next and B) What are all of the steps required to complete the goal. Be realistic by setting achievable goals. Create Your Plan IMMEDIATELY If you're like most people, then you'll have a limited window of opportunity during the first few days of January to harness your motivation. After that, most people forget their resolutions completely. Write Down Your Resolution and Plan Describe your resolutions in specific terms to help you formulate a plan. Commit your resolution and plan to writing someplace, such as a notebook or journal. Break down large goals into smaller ones. Don't keep your resolutions to yourself. Tell someone you trust about your resolutions. It helps to share your goals with friends, who can gently nudge you in the right direction when you veer off course. Think "Year Round," Not Just New Year's Nothing big gets accomplished in one day. Resolutions are set in one day, but accomplished with a hundred tiny steps that happen throughout the year. New Year's resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. You must develop a ritual or habit for revisiting your plan. myGoals.com helps you stick to your plan by providing email reminders that arrive when it's time to work on a given task. Remain Flexible Expect that your plan can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, and flexibility is required to complete anything but the simplest goal. Sometimes the goal itself will even change. Most of all, recognize partial successes at every step along the way. Just as a resolution isn't accomplished the day it's stated, neither is it accomplished the day you reach your goal. Rather, it's accomplished in many small increments along the way. Acknowledge these incremental successes as they come. Mistakes can be and usually are opportunities for learning. If you fall short of your goals, ask yourself what kept you from achieving them and then try to make corrections. People who like to sail understand this navigational concept. You almost never go directly from point A to point B. You set a course and periodically take readings of your position then make adjustments as you go along.Here is an example of a resolution you could adhere to:
Whereas the religious community continues to infiltrate the U.S. government in all it's branches,-and-
Whereas the religious community suppresses advancements in health care and education,
-and-
Whereas religious institutions oppose efforts to control population growth,
-and-
Whereas the non-religious are a minority community,
- and -
Whereas I count myself among the non-religious,
- Therefore -
I recognize my greater obligation to support the separation of Church and State and I hereby resolve to volunteer some of my time this year to help advance the cause of reason and freethought.
Or this from Secular Coalition for America:
As my New Year's Resolution for 2009, I resolve to-
Speak out and speak up about my beliefs and values
Join a local group – it always starts at the grassroots
Become a walking, talking billboard for my beliefs
Help build the secular constituency in my own political party
Do my homework and keep up with issues affecting me
Become a super e-activist
Become a citizen lobbyist
Write letters to the editor and call radio shows
Give my time or money to groups that represent my values