Change to meet your Needs

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

New year's Resolution and us.....

New Year's is the only holiday that celebrates the passage of time. Perhaps that's why, as the final seconds of the year tick away, we become introspective. Inevitably, that introspection turns to thoughts of self-improvement and the annual ritual of making resolutions, which offer the first of many important tools for remaking ourselves.

History: The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.

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 before the beginning of each year.

The New Year has not always begun on January 1, and it doesn't begin on that date everywhere today. It begins on that date only for cultures that use a 365-day solar calendar. January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars had.

The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new.

The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year's Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common New Year's gifts.

In the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year's Day to December 25, the birth of Jesus. Then they changed it to March 25, a holiday called the Annunciation. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration of the New Year was returned to January 1.

The Julian and Gregorian calendars are solar calendars. Some cultures have lunar calendars, however. A year in a lunar calendar is less than 365 days because the months are based on the phases of the moon. The Chinese use a lunar calendar. Their new year begins at the time of the first full moon (over the Far East) after the sun enters Aquarius- sometime between January 19 and February 21.

Although the date for New Year's Day is not the same in every culture, it is always a time for celebration and for customs to ensure good luck in the coming year.

See the video below for the 6 Presidential candidate's New Year's resolution.

Top Ten New Year Resolutions

The following list is the result of our extensive survey, which consisted of over 300,000 responses worldwide.

1. Lose Weight and Get in Better Physical Shape

Physical activity builds physical vitality. With every year of your life, you have more to gain from being physically active; as your age-related risks of chronic disease increase, regular exercise generally slows or reverses that trend.

In fact, you're even more likely to notice the benefits of regular exercise if you already have a chronic condition.

Are you ever going to be fit again as long as you live? The answer is unless you make a resolution to get fit – you’re never going to be fit – ever. The choice is yours; it begins by opting for the stairs instead of the elevator, fruit in place of chocolate, and active rather than sedentary activities.

2. Stick to a Budget

It’s been said that the best defense is a good offense. Developing and sticking to a realistic budget is a brilliant offensive move as it prevents overspending and ensures peace of mind.

Many people find it very difficult to stick to a budget. It does take hard work and a lot of self-discipline, at least in the beginning. The good news is that most people find the longer they can stick to a budget, the easier it becomes.

3. Debt Reduction

One of the first things you have to do before any debt can be eliminated is to stop using charge accounts. If you continue to use the accounts, you are only fueling the problem, and building on it, not solving it.

Make a resolution now to stop charging anything and to get financially stable. If you can't pay cash for it, you don't need it, make it just that simple and you will find yourself out of debt in no time at all.

Keep a diary of all money spent, whether it is by cash, check, credit card, etc. Once you know where your money is going, then, and only then, can you take the steps needed to prepare a good budget that you can live with and make huge strides to budgeting your debt away.

4. Enjoy More Quality Time with Family & Friends

More and more people are resolving to spend more quality time with family and friends this year. This means you must consciously decide to actively and purposely work on improving your family situation every day.

You may need to do such things as reschedule business activities to make time for your kids, help your children set and achieve worthwhile goals, and setting aside an hour a day for the family, every day.

Starting right now, you can begin to make choices and take day-to-day actions that will create nothing short of a phenomenal family. You can choose to have one if you just resolve to do it and know where to put your focus. Making our families stronger and healthier is important to our communities, our state and our world.

5. Find My Soul Mate

Romance is alive and well as more and more people are looking for that special someone, their soul mate who lights their fire, the ONE whom they love unequivocally and who shares their worldview.

Soul mate relationships are the sort of romantic relationships most of us dreamt of when we were young and innocent: loving and erotic, committed and inspiring and best of all - lasting.

Soul mate relationships give both partners the fulfilment that deeply satisfies them and makes them feel that they have found the most wonderful person in the whole universe.

6. Quit Smoking

Becoming a non-smoker is probably one of the best decisions you can ever make, and is a life changing as well as a life saving decision.

The benefits to your health, relationships, finances, vitality, the environment and to your sense of self-esteem for having conquered a really hard-to-kick habit will make any and all of your efforts and determination more than worth while. The resolution to become a non-smoker will also help you to live longer and enjoy the finer things in life.

Once you’ve made the resolution to stop, acted upon it and succeeded, you'll feel great about what you have achieved. Resolving to give up is your decision, and will improve your life from that moment on. No one can make you quit, and no one can help you make the resolution. You have to do it yourself, you have to want to do it, and you need to do it now!

7. Find a Better Job

A new year provides a sense of getting a free do-over, so you can try again and get it right. Many people resolve to find better jobs or to take a new approach to the jobs they've already got.

It's corny, but true -- most of us get reflective at this time of year and if we are in jobs already, we begin thinking: Am I on the right path? Do I like where my position and my company are headed? Am I even in the right career?

So you've been hearing that voice again, the one that says you're not doing what you were born to do. That may be true, but how do you figure out what you should be doing?

To begin answering this question, examine whether your current career path matches your core interests, beliefs, values, needs and skills. Resolve to ask and answer those essential questions before making any new career changes.

8. Learn Something New

People throughout the world are realizing that a strong resolve to lifelong learning is more than just education and training beyond formal schooling. A lifelong learning framework encompasses learning throughout the life cycle, from cradle to grave and in different learning environments, formal, non-formal and informal.

Perhaps you are considering a career change, want to learn a new language or musical instrument, or just how to become a better cook? Whether you take a course or read a book, you'll find education to be one of the easiest, most motivating and beneficial resolutions to keep. Challenge your mind in the coming year, break out of currents routines and challenge every comfort zone and watch your horizons expand.

9. Volunteer and Help Others

A popular, non-selfish New Year's resolution, volunteerism can take many forms such as spending time helping out at your local library, mentoring a child, or building a house to name a few.

Volunteering has risen sharply in the years since we began collecting resolutions. This suggests the possible emergence of a new civic generation and a resolve to make a bigger and better difference with your life.

Resolve to replace the pursuit of success and materialism with the pursuit of contribution and generosity. For this to occur, the critical question must move from, “How can I become successful?” to, “What can I contribute that will significantly impact other people's lives?” By focusing on what we can contribute, we automatically become successful.

10. Get Organized

Resolve this year to plan your days, reduce interruptions, clean off your desk, say "No", and make detailed lists. The benefits of getting more organized include being able to save time, as you no longer look for the same things over and over again or need to replace things you can’t find at all.

You will reduce stress because when you know where everything is, there’s no last-minute rush to find what you need and get out the door on time for school, soccer practice, or that important business meeting.

You will also find yourself being much more productive, as all the time you once spent looking for things can now be used to do more important or more enjoyable tasks.

Most people define being organized as quickly and easily able to find what you need. While this is certainly true, organization is so much more. The ability to staying organized lets you focus on accomplishing your most important goals. That’s the true benefit of being organized.

Wishing Healthy and very prosperous 2008 to all my beloved readers of this Blog. Make sure this time we take the resolution and we remain honest to keep it. Happy New Year!!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I want to finish the book I've been noodling at for over a year now. It's all about an adventure I enjoyed with my son before he started kindergarten, and now he's almost midway through first grade!

best,

Tom

Anonymous said...

As a personal fitness professional, my business greatly picks up around the new year because of the #1 resolution mentioned "Lose Weight/ Get In Shape".

But with that resolution, along with all the others, you will set yourself up for failure if your resolutions aren't: SMART. Meaning: Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely/TimeSensitive.

Often the general population makes too lofty their weight loss and fitness goals, and they are also too general. "I Want to Lose Weight" isn't specific enough. "I want to lose 20 pounds by March 1st" is.

Using the S.M.A.R.T acronym doesn't only help in Weight Loss and Fitness Goals, but in most resolutions we set in motion. If more people practiced it, they would experience much more success in achieving their goals. (Weight loss or otherwise).

I care nothing about the U.S. Presidential Resolutions, as they will say that this week and will change their goals when the next CNN poll comes out. LOL :) But their #1 resolution should be to stop trying to cater to "Special Interests" and start listening to what Mr. Joe Average American wants and cares about.

Anonymous said...

My resolution is to enjoy the outdoors more with my family. After coming out of the academic research sector I am motivated to have a "normal" life with my wife and kids. I am envisioning back-country skiing, fly fishing, and camping in the high country.

Anonymous said...

Well, I actually am not in favour of this school which links New Year Celebrations with New Resolutions and linking New Year Resolutions with introspection.
First of all if you want to do anything concrete and positive and feel that you need to take a resolution to do or not to do few things then you should not waiting for the end of an year. It can start at any time. It is like having Performance Appraisals and Performance Reviews. Though performance appraisals are done once in an year in some of the companies but you need to do performance reviews on regular basis to understand if you are on target or if you need to alter your plan or you need adopt something new.
Hence, for me New Year is a time be celebrate. To be thankful to the people around you for giving their support, love and affection to you during the given period. To be thankful to the GOD.

Thanks and Regards
Sanjeev

Anonymous said...

Dibyendu,
I have only one resolution this year and that is:
NOT TO MAKE ANY RESOLUTIONS THIS YEAR

One of my friends in school had famously mentioned Glassware, promises, hearts and new year resolutions are made to be broken.

And unfortunately (or shpuld I say fortunately) I could not adhere to the ones I made in 2007.

Anonymous said...

I believe that the New Years is when we reflect on the year in past to be able to make a right, in order to move forward into the new year a new. A few years ago I made a resolution to take the TV from my bedroom, because I was not getting the well rested sleep that I needed. This was having an affect on my daily life. That TV has never come back into my room. I think much more clearer and have much more energy through out the day. This years resolution is to remain focused. Having just started a DBA of our company we have opened the door for opportunity for many commercial businesses in every way imaginable. The sky is the limit for our clients. So building my networking connections is just the begining. I am excited about the year 2008 and the many years to follow. I look forward to my new found business connections in the year and years to come. Working and growing together to build an even more successful world.
Regards,
Mary

Tracy Brady said...

my resolutions are to eat healthier (I'll try again!!) and to keep up with my new adventure in blogging!

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