new years resolutions

[spezzy]

I'm not asking what yours are here - more interested in your thoughts on them? Good? Bad?

Ever kept one? If you have, what made you successful? If you fell off the horse a week in, why did you fail?

I've been able to keep a few, but sometimes it takes me the whole year to get it done.

[Chaze]

I've never actually made a real resolution. I personally tend to think that if it can wait all the way until the new year then it must not really be that important to me, which means I will probably fail.

That being said, sometimes the beginning of a new year just works out to be a good time to start things. This next 6-week challenge, for instance, is timed perfectly. I've noticed that with the holidays so close, the last week or two of the current 6WC has been slower, at least as far as activity on the forums goes. But right at the beginning of the new year, after the holidays are over, it will be the perfect time to attack my next bulking phase in a cleaner manner than I'd be able to accomplish in December. It's not really a resolution, just a good time to start something that I was going to do soon anyway.

[20mb13]

I've never actually made a real resolution. I personally tend to think that if it can wait all the way until the new year then it must not really be that important to me, which means I will probably fail.

That being said, sometimes the beginning of a new year just works out to be a good time to start things. This next 6-week challenge, for instance, is timed perfectly. I've noticed that with the holidays so close, the last week or two of the current 6WC has been slower, at least as far as activity on the forums goes. But right at the beginning of the new year, after the holidays are over, it will be the perfect time to attack my next bulking phase in a cleaner manner than I'd be able to accomplish in December. It's not really a resolution, just a good time to start something that I was going to do soon anyway.

agreed!

i feel like if you're going to do something... just do it. for some, maybe it will take a day or two to mentally prepare? maybe you really want to wait for a certain day like a birthday, anniversary, or new years to really give you that extra push of enthusiasm?

i think whatever works for each individual personal is great as long as it works, but personally if you really want to do something... than you're probably going to just do it, no matter what day or time of year it is.

to answer the question new year's resolutions aren't good or bad for me. it'd be fun to make one, but it'd only serve a purpose if it was a pact type of deal in order to help someone else fulfill their goals in life.

[jimmie65]

When I used a gym, I hated New Year's resolutions - because it meant the gym would be packed for the next 5 or 6 weeks.

Personally, I think the best time to resolve to do something is when you realize it needs to be done.

[weirdquark]

I made some year end training goals at the beginning of last year, some of which I have succeeded in and some of which I did not - the ones where I didn't I either decided they weren't a priority and didn't work on them or they turned out to be over-reaching for what was achievable in a year.

Other than that I've never made New Year's resolutions. If I need to change something, I change it when I figure out what it is I need to change and I've never seen January as important for beginnings.

[Laureleye]

I've actually always avoided making a New Year's resolution because it seems like something you do because you didn't want to do it bad enough to begin with - sort of pro forma if that makes sense.

[Gobnait]

Making resolutions in the middle of winter always seemed silly. Someone decides to start jogging when they have to wear thermal clothing, it takes will to keep that up.

I prefer to make spring resolutions. Not any particular date, just when it smells like things are coming back to life. I don't always keep those, but at least the energy level goes up.

[Zorch]

I'm not asking what yours are here - more interested in your thoughts on them? Good? Bad?

Ever kept one? If you have, what made you successful? If you fell off the horse a week in, why did you fail?

I've been able to keep a few, but sometimes it takes me the whole year to get it done.

My basic thought is - what is so special about January 1st?

I think the reason that so many New Years' resolutions fail is that they're initiated for the wrong reasons - people say "Well it's January 1st, let's pick out something that I can do better," but it hasn't really crystallized in their minds that it's something that they really, truly WANT to do. When people actually make successful changes, it's most often because something in their head clicked/they've made a clear decision and now have the drive they need to successfully make the change - there's some reason behind it with a lot more meaning and staying power than some arbitrary date on a calendar.

In short - if you decide something is worth doing, it's worth doing NOW, or at a time that makes sense/has some logical basis, *NOT* simply because we've crossed some arbitrary date on the calendar. Resolutions are great. But the 1st of the year doesn't really supply any motivation, and people need to find a much more meanginful, powerful reason to change if they truly want to be successful.

I've actually always avoided making a New Year's resolution because it seems like something you do because you didn't want to do it bad enough to begin with - sort of pro forma if that makes sense.

100% agreed.

[Namednoname]

Begin to save up for a trip to Thailand in 6 months time is mine. All my other goals/resolutions I'd rather start right now or have already started. Otherwise it just seems like I'm putting it off.

[CalvinHobbes]

I have had success with them, generally because its right after the holidays and time to clean up my act!

[Porkchop]

I do them mostly for novelty purposes and they make good conversation starters. The time I did a serious one, I dropped a 9 year smoking habbit and havent regretted it since (2006). Usually around that time is the best time to join a gym, lots of deals $$$

[Siferiax]

Never made New Year's resolutions, but I do have a preference to start something at "the beginning", so on the first of the month, or on Monday... that sort of thing. Feels like a clean slate. Plus makes it a little easier to count, but that's just me.

[rtalencar]

I'm not asking what yours are here - more interested in your thoughts on them? Good? Bad?

Ever kept one? If you have, what made you successful? If you fell off the horse a week in, why did you fail?

I've been able to keep a few, but sometimes it takes me the whole year to get it done.

If so that makes it a good resolution, no?

I've had mixed success with them, though I do like them. My best was I lost a whole bunch of weight leading up to my wedding. The wedding was the motivator but the new year really kicked my drive into gear (I had 6 months).

Failure, as with most things, came from a lack of willpower.

[Anduril]

I like taking stock at the end of the year; it seems like a good time to wipe the slate and start over.

That said, I tend to lack focus and usually only about half of what I intend to do Jan 1st ends up being done by Dec 31st. But I figure it's better than nothing!

[chrisevans17]

My opinion of New Years Resolutions... What is so special about New Year's? Why wait until January 1st to make a positive change in your life. Do it now. Don't change because the calendar changes, change because its Tuesday and you should.

SIDE NOTE: I have the same feelings toward Valentines Day. I would rather get my wife flowers or something because I love her than because of some arbitrary day in February.

[Heidi]

I tend to do more of a Spring Cleaning and Fall Assessment on where I am and where I want to be than a New Year's thing. I've never been big on New Year's resolutions since they don't seem to have the real conviction that other times have.

[SpiralGalaxy]

When I was 15 I set my New Year's resolution (get on the podium in a fencing tournament) and achieved it in 3 weeks. After that for some reason I felt like I'd "conquered" New Years Resolutions, and I never made one again.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I never really bothered, but I have done more with two six week challenges than I ever did with arbitrary decisions to make a change. The one exception was when I started South Beach and lost a lot of weight (and then found more than that), but I started that on Dec 26th, not new years.

[blindasutsutsu]

When I used a gym, I hated New Year's resolutions - because it meant the gym would be packed for the next 5 or 6 weeks.

Personally, I think the best time to resolve to do something is when you realize it needs to be done.

I hear this one for sure...I am dreading the beginning of January because of the resolutionary warriors...though they tend to fall off mid February.

As far as new years resolutions I agree with most on here that usually if you wait till New Years to do something it really isn't that important to you. So while I typically do set a resolution at the beginning of the year its never anything that I will hate myself for failing. That being said I think in general setting goals for yourself is a good idea regardless of timing so if you wait till new years to do it then at least you are still attempting whatever it is.

[Raincloak]

Resolutions are good to make as part of a ceremony. If most people make them December 31st, that's fine, but it's better if you get invested in the resolution (drawing up plans, examining your past, preparing for the change, telling your friends, etc.) The more you invest in it, the better your chances of keeping it.

I usually go through this routine on or before a religious holy day which is designated for atonement (and involves suspension of all daily work, mass public confessions, lots of praying and a 25-hour fast... if that doesn't wipe the slate, nothing will.) The point is not just to set your cosmic accounts even, it's also to free you from the burden of guilt you might be dragging around. It gives you the freedom to start over. The day even opens with a formal legal declaration that automatically voids any promises you might make and fail to keep. Psychologically, this is very valuable.

I don't think that if you "fall off the wagon" after a while, the resolution was necessarily worthless. I mean, let's say you resolve to go running 3 days a week, and that week you go running 3 times, and the next week you go running 2 times, and the week after, you go just once ... that's still 6 times you went running, which is way better than 0. And at least you went out and bought the shoes, which removes one obstacle if you want to take up running again in the future. If you made friends who encourage you to run, even better.

Most religions (and most self-help gurus) recognize that self improvement is not a one-time thing. You have to continually work at becoming what you want to be. You can go up the mountain and get enlightened, but then you have to get your butt back down and live your life and try to hang on to that enlightenment, which is the hard part.

remember the 80-20 rule. Nothing is perfect, but many things are worthwhile.

so to summarize: what you get out of resolutions is proportional to what you invest in them.

[RisenPhoenix]

I think they're good in principle. It never hurts to take a moment to take stock of your life, see if it's heading where you want it to, if there's any changes you want to make, or new things you want to finally getting around to trying. Some people won't spend that time on introspection except at the new year.

I do agree that changes are more likely to stick if made at a time of high motivation, not because the calendar ticks over to a new year. If you *really* wanted to change, you probably would've started already. But, if it's something *new* that you'd just not thought of before, it's more likely to stick. E.g. "Start ballroom dancing" is more likely to get off the ground than "Lose 30 pounds".

This. A lot of this.

Honestly, if I do resolutions they are never "These MUST be done" goals, but things I would like to do with myself in the next year. So getting jobs, heading to the gym more regularly, starting a particular hobby have been on there, and help focus me on what I want to accomplish.

[Jonesy]

I wouldn't say they are good or bad, but it's all the way you go about doing them that matters. I will say that I am one of those people who likes to start on a new year, 1st of the month, start of the week, so I see the appeal of New Years Resolutions.

I have to say I am guilty of making the "I want to lose weight" one and NEVER followed through on it.

[Crunchy Mama]

I made a New Years resolution 2 years ago to give up cokes. I suffered with a migraine for 2 days but I never touched another one.

For me, I decided why I really wanted to do what I was doing. I researched it and learned I was quite literally killing my bones, my teeth and my immune system. After I learned that it was easy to quit. I cut back from a 2-liter a day to maybe a glass a day but every time I drank it I thought, "eww this isn't good for me". I just "needed" it because of the migraines. I suffered through the few days of them on New Years an never looked back.

For me the key is convincing myself whatever goal I am making is for the benefit of me and my family.

[rybo]

I never really saw the point in them. And I always dreaded January because the gym got so crowded for 3-4 weeks.

[sumdawgtwigg]

I've never had a serious one and I generally don't think they stick for most people. Why wait until the first of the year to start something you could start now?