Fola Daniel Adelesi: Resolutions, Unlike Wishes, Require Discipline

Hi folks. Let me start by saying a very happy New Year. I am wishing you a very productive and prosperous New Year. Please remember that you have a part to play in your year ending as a prosperous one.

One of the most common things you will find people doing at the end of the year or at the beginning of a New Year is to start writing a New Year resolution. They make a long list of things they want to stop doing or start doing and they get so excited about it. Some people stick with it for a few days or weeks and before the end of January they are already struggling with it.

The really strong ones pull through till the second month of the year before they start struggling with it. After a while you’ll notice that all the resolutions have been thrown into the trash can. Then they start feeling bad about themselves all over again. At the end of the year they become sorry that they have not done much and they make another New Year resolution.

I think we should look into what makes people write resolutions, and if we can see a clear reason for that we might be able to work around it.
Why do you write the resolutions? Or what is a resolution and what goal is it supposed to achieve for you?

When I took a look at the synonyms for ‘resolution’, the first thing I realized is that most of the people writing a New Year resolution don’t actually know what a resolution is. If they know what it is they will not make one and drop it after a few weeks.

The word resolution is also the same as resolve, determination, steadfastness, tenacity, firmness, perseverance, doggedness and purpose. All of these words show that people just make a wish and say they have made a resolution. If you have really made a resolution then you will know that it requires some determination and doggedness. It’s not what you pay lip service to as many people do.

What I think you should do in the New Year is to take a different approach. Once you explore the different approach to the resolutions you have been making then you might find that it was not so hard to either stop or start what you wanted to.

The first is for you to try the approach of discipline. If you just learn to discipline yourself you will not have to be struggling with some resolutions that you write every year. With discipline you can do a lot more than the things you have written down as resolutions. Sometimes without writing a resolution you will notice that you are moving forward and achieving much.

A second thing you might want to try is the approach of benefits and consequences. For the things you intend to do, what are the benefits you gain if you eventually achieve them? Knowing that and focusing on it can help in staying on that path. What are the things you really need to stop doing? And what are the consequences if you do not stop doing them? Remembering the consequences can also help you stop some of those things in a way.

You can also look for people who can walk you through some of the things you want to start doing or stop doing. With the help of these people made available to you, it means that it just might be easier to achieve what you want to achieve. That means you will need people to get certain things done. It may not be easy without people.

All those things you want to put down as resolutions can be achieved but you need to go past that phase of just making a wish. What most people do is to make a wish and they claim they have a New Year resolution. That’s why they say it does not work. Should the resolution work on its own or are they supposed to make it work? Think on these things and take a stand that will help your life move forward.

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