So I was lucky enough to be on Holiday to welcome in the New Year. When I got home, I realized that this was the first year for a long time that I had not given any thought to a New Year’s resolution. You should also know that whilst I may have made resolutions in years gone by, they have typically fallen by the wayside long before the end of January. You know how it is, you wake up on New Year’s Day and say: “ I need to stop smoking, lose weight, exercise regularly, etc.”, and then life kicks in, and if you’re like me the first signs of stress drive those resolutions out of your conscious mind!
I thought I’d do a little research on the history of New Year’s resolutions. It turns out that they date back to 153 B.C. Ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods to return all borrowed objects and pay off their debts. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus for whom the month of January is named. Janus is always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back, so that he could reflect back on the past and look forward to the future at the same time.
According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton and published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, about 45% of people made a New Year’s Resolution this year. By January 7th, 25% of the people who have set a New Year’s resolution have already given up. By January 20, 80% will have given up. In fact, statistics show that only 8% of the people who set New Year’s resolutions actually keep them through the summer. Those statistics are somewhat surprising when you consider that the most common resolutions aren’t terribly hard to accomplish. The top 4 resolutions for 2012 were:
1. Lose weight; be more healthy
2. Get organized
3. Spend less, save more
4. Enjoy life more; find a better work/life balance
Like Janus, I’m going to reflect on the challenges and successes of 2012 as I focus on ways to make 2013 even better. My XPIENT-focused resolution for 2013 is for our Company to acquire 3 new customers. As of today, the 25th of January, not only have I not given up, but it’s a resolution I plan to focus on throughout the year. Furthermore, I am highly confident that we will accomplish that goal.
Please share your resolutions for 2013, and whether or not you are still on track.
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Back in 2007 I weighed over just over 240 pounds. My 5′-8″ frame did not carry that kind of weight well. I resolved to do better. Not for the year. Just for that day. And then the next day I made the resolution again. Every time I came in contact with something that wanted to derail my ambitions I made the resolution again. By the summer I had shed over 60 pounds in just over 6 months. Hard work and eating better.
This year? I would like to take my current weight down a bit. I would also like to find a way to worry less. The latter is more of a genetic trait if you know my family so it’s going to be difficult. I can’t wait to see what this year has in store.
Pretty impressive resolution in 2007!