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Rite of passage
Mythical Monday. It is from this day of the week that we start to make the most changes in our lives. This is a new beginning for runners, for those on a diet, for those who start to take care of sleeping conditions and for book readers.
Monday, however, has a powerful competitor – January 1. No Monday will be able to compete with this date (unless we have a rollover and January 1st falls on the first day of the week). This New Year usually marks the beginning of our life revolutions. If something bothers us in our life so far, then the beginning of the year is often the beginning of a revolution
Why? And why, weighed down by everyday life and accumulating problems, we repeat in our mind: let this year be over. And we wait, believing that the new year will bring us good things and stop the streak of failures? Magic? According to Joanna Heidtman – a psychologist and sociologist, business trainer, advisor, coach – it’s no magic, and the so-called rite of passage from French. rites de passage (source: https: //www.mp.pl/pacjent/psychiatria/wywiady/201639,postanowanie-przemysl-to-dobrze).
And although at the first moment we may have more or less modern tribal rituals in our head when we hear the rite of passage, after a deeper analysis it is impossible to disagree with the doctor. After all, the rite of passage is a symbol of a great change in a person’s life, a change in status, marital status, entering adulthood, etc.
Following this path, we come to the New Year – a day celebrated loudly and joyfully in many cultures, the day of a breakthrough, saying goodbye to the old, greeting the new. Magic seems to get less, but ritual symbolism replaces it with dignity. So it turns out that seduced by fireworks and popping champagne corks, we take courage and believe that this is the time, time for change.
So we reset the counter, forgive ourselves for past mistakes and stumbles, and proceed to action with a clean slate. The perfect situation to achieve success – we have a whole year ahead of us and the prospect of a new and better life.
Healthier, slimmer and smarter
There is nothing to cheat, everyone or almost everyone would like to be beautiful, young and rich. So why not decide that this is our goal from the new year? Okay. We have no influence on the age, but our eyelid will not twitch when entering other items on our list of provisions. Here’s what lands on most of the lists:
- quitting smoking or abstinence from alcohol
- slimming and changing eating habits,
- dream trip or vacation,
- learning a foreign language or new skills,
- finding a better job, professional development,
- start training, regular exercise,
- being better organized, disciplined,
- life to the fullest.
Brutal statistics
Ambitiously. But why not? After all, you have to set ambitious goals. However, it would also be useful to implement them. And here the stairs begin. Research by the University of Bristol in 2007 showed that 88 percent. New Year’s resolutions have not been implemented. The Statistic Brain Research Institute published a report in 2017, which shows that only 9,2 percent. of the respondents kept their New Year’s resolutions. The situation is much better in the studies published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology by of this publication 46 percent. people kept their resolutions in the New Year (source: https: //www.medicover.pl/o-zdrowiu/postanoszenia-noworocze-jak-je-zaplanowac-aby-ich-dotrzymac,7260,n,168).
Does this mean that we are doomed to failure? Not! Absolutely not. It is only information that just writing down our plans for the New Year is not enough. You have to be professional and smart when it comes to New Year’s resolutions. Only in this way we increase our chances of their implementation. Let’s start from the beginning.
First: no exaggeration
If our list of New Year’s resolutions resembles a receipt for Christmas shopping of a multigenerational family, we make our lives difficult from the very beginning. Deciding to lose weight during the year, learn a new language, read at least one book a week, find time for family and friends, and start taking care of the backyard on a regular basis, raising qualifications during the breaks, to change jobs this year we just shoot ourselves in the knee.
Let’s remember – a year is only 12 months and a day only 24 hours. Someday we have to sleep, rest and do nothing, exhausted to the limit we will quickly get discouraged, throwing not only one devil, but probably all our new goals and habits.
| 1 step |
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| Let’s decide which changes are our priority and realistic to implement. Nothing prevents you from adding new items from the list of provisions over time, but we certainly should not start everything at once. |
Second: precision
Let’s say our goal is to lose weight, although the method itself is quite universal. So, let’s think carefully how much and when we want to lose weight. Let’s write it down. Again, in line with the first step – let’s not overdo it. Let the number of kilos we want to lose be realistic and safe for our health.
Let’s assume a healthy weight loss rate is half a kilo a week, with a good diet and regular physical activity. The realistic goal is to lose 10-15 kg in a few months, the unrealistic goal is to lose 30 kg in a month.
It is also a great time to think carefully about whether losing weight is the real goal that we care about the most. Or maybe it is more important for us to eat healthy, improve condition, health, immunity, and weight loss should only be its side effect?
Particular attention should also be paid when naming this goal. For example: In 2022 I will lose 15 kg and keep my weight is much better than simply: I will lose weight in the new year. We should also remember to define our goal in such a way that it can be easily divided into smaller stages. This will allow you to monitor your progress and record less success.
| 2 step |
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| Let’s measure our intentions. A target that is too general can make it difficult to evaluate and monitor our progress. Let us clarify what we expect from this change and at what time we want to notice its effects. |
Third: the plan
We must have a plan. Without it, we will almost certainly be among those who squeeze their gym pass around the middle of February into the darkest corner of their wallets, so that their view does not arouse remorse in them, regularly sweetened with snacks.
Our list already precisely describes the goal – for example the aforementioned number of kilos that we want to lose. So now it’s time to answer the key question: How are we going to achieve this goal? Here, too, let’s be precise. Merely writing “I will eat less and move more” will not bring us any closer to its realization.
We stick to our example from the previous paragraphs: In 2022 I will lose 15 kilos and keep my weight. How? I will give up sweets, introduce a healthy diet and regular physical activity. Sounds like a plan already. And we can try to implement this plan ourselves, using our own methods, or using professional help.
There are ready-made tools and solutions that, especially at the beginning, can turn out to be invaluable support. For example, as part of a subscription to, you receive a diet tailored to your needs, a training plan, progress monitoring and support – a dietitian, trainer and psychologist.
| 3 step |
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| Just deciding to change and naming your goal is not enough. Plan how we want to implement it, divide it into smaller stages, which will help us later monitor the progress and notice smaller successes. |
Fourth: reason
Exaggeration is inadvisable not only when compiling a list of resolutions. It will also not help with their implementation. Let’s use common sense. Let’s not eliminate everything from the diet except lettuce and carrots. Let’s not assume that 8 hours of language learning a day will speed up the whole process. From the very first days, let’s not try to force ourselves with murderous training for advanced players, let’s not jump into the deep water and after years of sitting on the couch, let’s not try to run a half-marathon in January. It can’t work.
Remember that even if something did not work out, even if we veered off course for a moment, it does not mean the failure of the entire project. Self-flagellation will not give us strength and faith in our abilities. We change our lives for the better, let’s try to enjoy it and focus on even the smallest successes. The world will not end if we eat a piece of cake at a family celebration, skip one training session or remember 10 words less. The philosophy of “all or nothing” will not work in this case.
| 4 step |
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| Let us forget about the philosophy of “All or nothing”. Each success is marked by smaller and bigger failures, they are the ones we learn from our mistakes. Common sense, peace of mind, and patience are helpful factors on the way to achieving your goals. |
Fifth: let’s make our lives easier
As we wrote before – we don’t have to do everything ourselves. Ba! We shouldn’t even be. Let us use professional knowledge and support in preparing the plan and later, at the stage of its implementation. Let’s be prepared to change the method or optimize the current one – the fact that someone’s learning a language was made easier by flashcards and watching foreign series does not mean that exactly the same method will be effective in our case.
The goal may remain the same, but let’s not be afraid to change the paths that lead to its achievement. We can also share our resolutions for the new year with our relatives, family and colleagues. Their support may prove invaluable in moments of doubt or loss of motivation.
| 5 step |
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| There is no golden mean. Let us remember this especially in moments of doubt. We can change the method at any time, take two steps back, and ask for help. Let’s make our life easier, we don’t have to be frustrated and tired. |
Good and precise planning, use of help, common sense and moderation are universal solutions, not only in the context of implementing the provisions, but also the diet and weight loss itself. We keep our fingers crossed so that you can make all your plans and dreams come true. And of course, we always offer support and help!
How about your New Year’s resolutions letters? Are you making them? And if so, what do you write on them and what patents do you have for their implementation?