New year's resolutions should be easy to follow and free of pain and misery, writes Giles Warrington
ACCORDING TO 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."
With Christmas over we come to that time of year when people reflect on the past 12 months and start to turn their attentions to planning the year ahead. With this comes the dreaded new year's resolution, dreaded because, despite the best intentions, the majority fail to attain the desired end results.
In the words of Oscar Wilde, "Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account."
Most popular new year resolutions include: losing some weight, getting fitter, spending more time with the family, clearing debts, trying something new, resolving conflicts, giving up smoking and drinking less.
Many of these are based on the premise that there are numerous health and lifestyle benefits stemming from enhanced physical and mental wellbeing.
It is estimated that about 80 per cent of the population make new year's resolutions, but on average only about 20 per cent stick to them.
It is very easy to get caught up in the hype of starting the new year with a new target, but not so easy to buy into the changes necessary to achieve the intended outcome.
If you want to find the solution to willpower and commitment deficit, ask a champion. As the nine times Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis put it, "there are three stages to success - firstly, identifying what you want to achieve; secondly, establishing the price necessary to achieve that goal; and thirdly, pay that price - unfortunately most people only achieve two out of three!"
So why is there such a high failure rate in the resolution stakes?
There are probably a number of causative factors, including: not connecting with or taking new-found promises seriously; people having a superficial commitment to them rather than buying into the process; setting unrealistic and unattainable targets and choosing the same resolution each time and being unsuccessful year after year. It's a bit like insanity - "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome!"
Now is the time to make some realistic and attainable resolutions which may have a positive impact on your health and well-being, rather than those which are impractical and impossible to achieve.
New year resolutions should be easy to follow and free of pain and misery. They might even be fun and rewarding, especially if they lead to a beneficial outcome in terms of improving your quality of life.
Next week we will look at some simple steps which will make it easier for you to target and fulfil your resolutions. In particular, the role and importance of goal-setting and action- planning will be highlighted.
• Dr Giles Warrington is a sport and exercise physiologist and lecturer in the School of Health and Human Performance at Dublin City University (DCU)