<div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-size:15px;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>New Year - the pinnacle moment of the holiday season! Days preceding the new year are moments spent in festivity and cheer, ultimately and faithfully ending on a high note of promises and resolutions.<br>As life beckons us back to our roles and responsibilities, making resolutions gives inspiration and direction – to do things differently this year, to be a different person, and to live up to our potential. We look forward to another year of endless opportunities, give ourselves second chances and spare a few days to reappraise our lives. At the end of the year, when the time of reckoning comes, we hope to feel better and more accomplished about the year gone by.<br>Even as so many people are driven to make resolutions, according to a study conducted by the University of Scranton (Pennsylvania, USA), only few of them actually achieve their New Year resolutions. The travesty of this situation is that, the second Friday of January is known as Quitters Day. <br>The most popular New Year’s resolutions center around self-improvement of living healthy, getting happy, stopping smoking, losing weight. In addition to these goals, meeting career goals and improving relationships take the next level of priority. When resolutions are made to achieve personal goals, and to enrich one’s physical and mental state, why is it a struggle to stay determined and perseverant. After all, a resolution is to get things right. Let us look into some of the setbacks responsible for resolution break down, and suggestions of experts that might help you stay committed.<br>Are resolutions really necessary?<br></p><span></div><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-size:15px;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>A simple answer: No. Just as many people like to structure their life by setting resolutions using calendar dates or festival times, there are many who do not engage in making any date bound resolutions. They review their goals and expectations on their own individual milestones and assess their progress either by themselves or with help from professionals. <br>To some, resolutions can often be counter-productive, especially when the process seems overwhelming rather than exciting. The initial hurdles can be discouraging when the pace of the expected results is slow or totally absent. <br>The rewards of resolution: For those who want to take the path of making and keeping their resolutions, despite the challenges and pitfalls of the journey, it is gratifying to be committed to a healthier, happier and more fulfilling life. Setting resolutions gives clarity and control in your choices and decisions, and puts the higher purpose and noble human goals ahead of small failures and defeats. <br>Resolutions create a bridge between your current situation and the chosen place. When the direction is clear, you are motivated to put your best efforts and move forward with self-assurance.<br>Resolutions give hope for a better tomorrow, as it engages you with yourself and with the community around you. When you choose to improve your life in one area, it encourages you to take action and be optimistic about succeeding. A small success can give you immense strength to deal with other spheres of your life. Those around you are inspired by the progress they see in your choices, and may make them resolute about making similar changes that better their lives. <br><br></p><span></div><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-size:15px;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>Finally, resolutions make you responsible for your thoughts and actions. A small thought about keeping in touch with family will make you feel responsible about their well-being. Your concern can make them feel connected and cared for. <br>If you are resolute about being healthy, you take responsibility for your diet and exercise. Your commitment can make others in your family responsible for their health as well. <br>Make resolutions successful: To achieve success in meeting your resolutions, we need to delve into the root cause of these ‘failures’. Obstacles and let downs are part and parcel of human existence. There is nothing to feel embarrassed or regretful about breaking resolutions. If the whole idea of meeting your targets feels burdensome, then the fault is not with the target per se, it’s more to do with your approach. <br>Understandthe root cause: Start with the right attitude of understanding yourself. A ‘negative’, ‘self-defeating’, or ‘self-obstructive’ behavior could be the reason, and that should be identified with an honest outlook. For deep level changes to happen, know your mindsets, values, habits, and fears to identify why some goals are harder to achieve, and challenging to sustain.<br>Change your consciousness: This is a crucial element of creating anything successful. A higher level of consciousness is required to find solutions for the problems that exist at a lower level. One must truly drill down, be brutally honest, and change the old patterns of thinking to meet goals with success.<br><br></p><span></div><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-size:15px;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>This is especially true when healing from failed relationships, personal trauma, or abusive patterns. If you are always taken advantage of, mistreated or abused, the cause can be traced back to your childhood experiences. It takes a lot of courage to face those memories and situations that put you in this place today.<br>Tolerance levels, personal boundaries, and healthy respect for oneself should be fortified first, only then can these destructive patterns be broken. A strong and firm foundation makes it easier to stay solid on your resolutions.<br>Build an accountability structure: Find a trustworthy, uncompromising, and reliable partner, who can help you keep track of your milestones, your slips, and your progress. An accountability partner can expand your thinking capabilities and direction, and connect you with a better version of who you can be.<br>Stay purpose oriented: State the purpose of taking on resolutions. Is it to be happier? Healthier? Be more financially secured? Have stable relationships and be part of a functional family? Be more confident and self-assured? Be a better partner or a better parent?<br>Stating the purpose makes resolutions more sustainable, because purpose is personal and can be customized as per your needs and requirements. There is no time line or deadline to achieving these goals. For as long as the purpose is relevant, so will the resolution live on. By making the circle of influence bigger, you are more committed to the resolution. The inspiration that you are not the only one benefitting from the success of your resolutions, motivates you to keep growing.<br>Do not compare: Nothing is more damaging to your resolve than comparing your path with someone else’s. Everyone has their own template of hardships, sufferings, and battles to fight. Someone may have just triumphed over one issue and is happy, while you may be dealing with a wholly different issue. Comparing two different timelines and scenarios can build more agony and frustration, prompting you to stray from your own resolutions. <br><br></p><span></div><div style=' background:#FFFFFF;color:#000000;font-size:15px;font-family:Verdana;width:auto;padding:5px;max-height:100%;'><span><p>If you are on a career break, watching videos about others’ career ambitions can put self-doubt on your decision. Similarly, if you are on a weight loss program, food talks and food shows can break your resolve. Lectures on successful marriages and companionship can cause depression, if you are recovering from the stress of a recent divorce. Keep away from situations that can weaken your spirit.<br>In this aspect, social media in particular can be a very tricky place to be in. Social media can give many false impressions about others’ progress in the context of your own struggles. In addition, celebrity achievements or influencers’ reach should not be factored in your individual progress. <br>A resolution is a brick in the foundation of success and long-lasting happiness. A day in a year is a good place to start without guilt, burden, or fear of failure. Strive to keep the flame of your resolutions burning bright, shining a guiding light on your life course.<br>Wish you a happy new year and success in your resolutions!!<br><br></p><span></div>