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Jarett Fields
As we welcome the new year, it is customary for us to make New Year’s resolutions.
Some historians trace New Year’s resolutions back to the ancient Babylonians to the god “Janus,” where the month January gets its name.
This two-headed god looks back to the past and forward to the future, similar to the “Sankofa” bird, which looks backward but flies forward.
No matter how we trace the history of New Year’s celebrations or New Year’s resolutions, the point is to learn from the past in order to do better in the future.
Resolutions are one way to hold ourselves accountable for those lessons learned.
Some of the most popular resolutions are: quit smoking, lose weight, and save more money.
If these are your resolutions, you are among the over the ten million Americans who make and break these in particular.
One of the reasons resolutions are so easily broken is because many of us underestimate what it takes to make ourselves successful in keeping them.
As soon as we speak or set a goal, resistance is created.
Fear of failure, excuses, time, money, self-sabotage, unhealthy friends and a host of other things all present challenges to our success.
So, instead of a New Year’s resolution, we should be trying to make New Year’s revolutions.
Besides the “s” and the “v” there are major differences between a resolution and a revolution.
A resolution is something we are determined to do or to make happen.
A revolution is a fundamental change.
In other words, we cannot make a resolution unless we make a revolution.
More clearly, if you want to stop smoking, you have to make a fundamental change in the way you think about your body, your money, and the lives of those who love you.
The same goes for losing weight.
You have to make a fundamental change in the way you think about food, your health, and your family.
Change the way you think, change the way you behave.
A resolution is a change in behavior; a revolution is a change in your mentality.
So instead of making a New Year’s resolution, make a New Year’s revolution.
You should also encourage your family to do the same.
Happy New Year!