From losing weight to quitting smoking, managing money as well as anger to saying no to junk food, we all pledge to make certain positive changes in our lives in the new year. However, within the first few weeks, most resolutions slowly peter out and we get back to our not-so-healthy lifestyle and habits.
There are various reasons and temptations that make us weak and sometimes we are not even sure if we really want to make those changes in our lives and come out of our comfort zone. While some of us set unrealistic expectations, which fall flat on January 1 itself, for others the absence of the desired results after toiling hard sends them back to their old behaviour.
For Karthik Naralasetty, CEO, Redcode, new year shouldn’t be the only time to make resolutions. It can be anytime or any day. All one needs is motivation, he feels. “I believe the people who really keep their resolutions intact are the people who eventually succeed in life. For that we need is to have realistic and achievable resolutions. If I have doubts about my plan, nothing can help me stick to it. Also, when you set your expectations high and if the results don’t reach your expectations you are bound to go back to the same old thing you did before,” he says.
Designer Gaurav Jai Gupta doesn’t believe in making resolutions and thinks that the whole business of vowing is probably an excuse for people to keep postponing things to January 1.
Gaurav adds, “It takes a lot to change any habit. Unless and until you are strong willed, no matter how many resolutions you make, you’ll keep falling back to your old self. And with most of us, it takes an emergency to pay any attention to the damage and we wait for the red alert for things to push us.”
Many feel that if they can’t work consistently on their resolutions, then there is no point trying to be ambitious. Instead, they should make an action plan to solve a problem as and when it comes up.
HR consultant Shiv Sood has been trying to quit smoking for years. And almost every time it’s because of people pressurising him to do that.
“I really never wanted to do that. I think most people are habituated to a particular lifestyle for a long time and for them to make any changes is not at all easy. It’s not that people don’t try, but they go back to their comfort zone sooner than expected. One needs to compromise with comfort if they want to stand tall against laziness.”