YOU NEED TO MAKE NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

Happy New Year!

There is a growing resentment against New Year's Resolution. A new band of anti-woke soldiers is rallying against New Year's Resolution with the reminder that New Year Resolutions do not work. They are building on the truism that most of us have experienced; we've all made New Year Resolutions that did not last beyond January. While true, I am here with a message: You Need To Make New Year Resolutions.

Indeed, most people do not follow up on their New Year Resolutions. More than 84% of people who set New Year's resolutions do not follow them. By the end of the first week, 23% of people quit their resolutions. By the end of January, 43% of people quit their resolution. And by the middle of the year, more than half have quit their resolutions. It is a tragic statistic. This sobering statistic is a powerful weapon for my opponents in this debate.

But there are two things they don't tell you.

Number one, they don’t explain why most people quit their resolutions. Number two, they don’t tell you that studies show that people who write their goals and develop ways to be accountable are more than twice as likely to achieve those goals compared to people who do not set any goals.

A wise man said, “If you don't know where you are going, any road will lead you there.” I am a simple man, so I'm afraid I have to disagree with him. You won't go anywhere if you don’t know where you are going. That simple! Without New Year Resolutions, you don’t know where you are going. You may have 365 days, but 365 days for what? New Year Resolutions help you set agendas for the year. They help you see where you want to reach by December 31st. They help you see which areas you want to grow in. Another advantage of New Year Resolutions is that when you fail, at least, it tells you where you failed. It is like a man who wants to travel to Bokkos in Plateau State. When he sets out in the morning and by evening, he isn’t in Bokkos; at least he knows where he has derailed. Because his destination is Bokkos, he can confidently say, “I am stranded in Barkin Ladi, so I need 20 more minutes to complete my journey”. A man who intends to travel anywhere will simply not know where he is lost.

So, friends, you need New Year's resolutions. Forget the critics. Forget the anti-woke band. You need to know where you failed; that's if you do.

Now, there are a few reasons why New Year Resolutions fail. Chief amongst them are unrealistic resolutions, lack of accountability, and lack of discipline. If you haven't read 50 books in the previous year, setting the goal of reading 100 books in the next year is setting an unrealistic expectation. If you intend to read 12 books and have no book club you are part of, you are escaping accountability. If you intend to read 12 books and do not spare time, mobilize the will to read, and intentionally purchase books to read, you lack discipline. These are the primary reasons why New Year Resolutions fail.

So, you next must set realistic New Year Resolutions, form an accountability system, and develop discipline to pursue your goals.