The new year has arrived. Time to make the annual resolution. Seriously? If you are serious about resolving to do something, why wait till the new year. Smacks of procrastination, isn’t it? That’s why I generally don’t decide to change anything in the new year.
When was the last time I made a New Year’s resolution? Can’t remember, really. Very convenient, you’d say. It must be around the time I used to smoke. That must have been more than 15 years ago. It can’t be about smoking. I enjoyed it so much that I never thought I could quit. That was until I did it. And it didn’t require a resolution. It was more like quitting cold turkey.
If it wasn’t smoking, what was my last resolution? To hit the gym regularly, go swimming or something like that. Definitely not chocolates or sweets. I’m sure it wouldn’t have been something I really loved. Leave it. What’s the point in recalling it.
What the stats say about New Year’s resolutions
The beauty of New Year’s resolutions is that you know in the back of your mind that they’re not serious. Even if you fail, who cares? After all, you decide to do something for your own good. So if you can’t do it, no one will complain. That’s why I love New Year’s resolutions.
Take a look at the stats from the New York-based Drive Research:
- 38% of people make New Year’s resolutions each year, but only 9% of people stick to them
- 80% of New Year’s resolutions are forgotten by February, while 46% of adults still stick to their resolutions after six months
- Friday is a popular day for goal-setters to drop their resolutions
Why bother if only 9% of people benefit from New Year’s resolutions? But then, what’s the harm in trying? At least you tried and failed. That’s better than not trying at all.
Usually, people resolve to do something that will improve their lives. Like improving their fitness or finances, losing weight, going on a diet, giving up addictions like smoking, coffee or social media, changing a routine, starting a hobby, taking the stairs every day, stopping eating out every day or something like that. It’s always something positive.
A time for new beginnings
All of them are great. But why wait till the new year. We could start any time. Now is the best time. Yet we tend to put it off to Monday, the first of next month and, the biggest of all, the beginning of a new year.
The new year is a time for new beginnings. It’s like wiping last year’s slate clean and starting anew. Kind of a romantic notion, I guess. Something you can look back with a gleam in the eye, if you have succeeded. So, let me go with the flow.
What can be my resolution? Gyming? I’ve been doing that sporadically. Swim more regularly? Maybe. What else? What’s the one thing that robs my time? Reels! It has to be. The short videos on Facebook and Instagram have become an addiction. And that takes away so much time.
Yes, I’ve got to stop that. It’s become so bad that I have stopped reading books. Before reels crept into daily routine, I’d read Abraham Verghese’s The Covenant of Water and Cutting for Stone in good time. But after I picked up Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, I haven’t progressed beyond a few pages.
Here’s my New Year’s resolution
Reels are the reason. Reels on cooking, baking, movie clips, cricket moments, football moves, comical stuff and so on. It’s reels first thing in the morning, and last thing before I hit the bed. That’s got to stop. And I’ll gain more time for reading.
My New Year’s resolution will be to stop watching reels. I’m dead serious. I intend to do it. What about you?
