We have just stepped in to the New Year and the one topic that finds its way into most conversations these days is “New Year Resolutions”!!!. Having been a witness to many such conversations, have had the opportunity to hear some classic quotes over the years:
- Resolutions are for the irresolute
- My resolution is to have no resolution
- Why bother – every year we make & then break them
While we ponder the above opinions, New Year resolutions still subtly find their way into our lives, reinforcing my personal belief that it is an innate human need to transform & welcome new beginnings with freshness!
Yet with the best of intent….most of us seem to fail in keeping up the resolve. Some research into the lives of successful people have led me to believe that the below three things will help us in gaining that elusive self-discipline.
- Choose to be “choice- less”.
- The first forty days
- One step at a time
Habit of being choice less:
An often read statement – “Man is the only living creature designed with facility of choice by nature”. This privilege is both a boon and a bane to humanity. It helps us choose resolutions and also ensures we choose to go back to our old ways. It is to be understood that it is the property of the mind to opt for the easier choice. For example: As the alarm goes off, you will notice the “mind talk” starts and between choosing to wake up to read and going back to sleep. Mind typically chooses the easier option…shuts the knob and sleeps! Mind is always in a state of conflict between the two choices. So generally we resist the conflict and forcefully go ahead and read for a few days, the very resistance to conflict itself becomes a form of conflict and we give up.
The best way to overcome this is to become choice less in the aspect of the resolution that we have taken. So if the resolve is to get up early..the moment the alarm goes off even before the mind processes the choice to sleep or wake up…jump off that bed! Ensure you do this for…..
The first forty days…
It is scientifically proven that any resolution or task that is followed for forty days continuously will automatically turn into a habit. Someone who wakes up every morning, pours a cup of coffee and goes for a morning walk, in that order, has that pattern built in to his or her brain. So if we can exercise choice-less-ness for forty days first, we form a habit and chances are that the resolves taken become a part of our persona.
One step at a time:
Research proves that having too many tasks to achieve diminishes productivity, leading to loss of focus and increase in stress. The solution for this is to put a significant number of tasks on hold and use focus and increased productivity to speed up the open task that is in hand. The result will be increased rate of success and self satisfaction.
So the tip is not to have a long list of resolutions. Just pick one change – become choice-less about it – practice it for 40 days- make it a part of your persona and you are on your way to lead a disciplined life.
Happy New Year resolutions!
By:
Mrs. Jaya Lakshmi, Sr. Consultant at HR Footprints &
Ms. Divya Shalini, Member at HR Footprints
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