Instead of writing New Year Resolutions, we here at The Wellness Insider have decided to write a gratitude journal instead. Why? Because life shouldn’t have just a single designated day where you make huge decisions or attempt to change. It is about thousands of small changes that you make each day. It is about any day in the calendar where you decide to take a stand and improve yourself by making conscious choices every single day thereafter.
Statistics have shown that only 8% of those who make New Year Resolutions succeed. Nonetheless, those who do make resolutions often are more successful (ten times more likely, to be exact) at achieving those goals compared to those who talk about them but don’t make any resolutions. Which goes to show the psychological benefits of penning your goals down. But…it doesn’t need to be 1 Jan for you to write down your resolutions, right?
Moreover, what happens if you look back and realised that you’ve failed your resolutions? Is that going to make you feel bad? Don’t be too hard on yourself because life is a continuous journey and as mentioned earlier, it is more important to make thousands of small changes before you see the huge change. For example, let’s take weight loss as a goal (this happens to be one of the top resolutions). Weight loss is about constant trips to the gym where you put in at least 30 mins into an activity, or a conscious habit to take daily long walks after a meal. You won’t see the results after a week but you’ll notice difference after a month or so.
Thus, here are some reasons why we’re writing a gratitude journal instead of a New Year Resolution:
- Helps us reflect on the year that has passed
- Makes us thankful for the blessings we have received
- Mindful of the mistakes and the lessons learnt from them
- Be more conscious of what we’re doing well, what we’re doing wrong and how to improve on them
All the above definitely will help one make better resolutions or set more realistic goals into improving our lives, regardless what time of the year it is.
Without further ado, have a great 2017 everyone and let’s work together to have a better year!
Reference: Statistic Brain
Photo credits: Pixabay and GIPHY
