What is your take on New Year Resolutions?

What is your take on New Year Resolutions?

On Sunday evening, I was looking forward to attending the cross-over prayers, it was exactly 10:15pm and I was feeling sleepy, I wanted to take a short nap for some minutes so that I can join the rest of the family to attend the cross-over prayers. I told my mom and younger brother to wake me up at 11:00pm so that we can attend the prayers together but none of them did. The truth is, I am thankful to God that none of them did because attending the cross-over prayers is my mom's idea. I really do not believe you have to spend the last few minutes of New Year’s Eve in a church/mosque to make it a great and successful year. Yes, you are right, I am not a religious fanatic. I am Oluwole, I am a Muslim and I believe in God, that’s all.

Undoubtedly, I totally believe that God have a significant role to play in our individual lives and we need to commit ourselves to him so that he can lead us aright but I think we constantly forget that we are the architect of our destiny and every positive change must start from within. God is great. Interestingly, I cruised into the New Year in a king-sized bed, I really had a good night rest. I woke up around 7:00am on New Year's Day and I decided to check out Whats-app, that decision turned out to be a bad idea! I spent the next 10 - 20 minutes replying chats, messages and broadcasts from colleagues, friends and family members. It was so emotional, a lot of messages. I really felt honored.

Few minutes to 8:00am, I had to attend to a brawl between two neighbors over a plastic bucket. Hmm, I am sure you are surprised. I was surprised too! But, everything is possible when you live in Ikotun. Back to the matter, a married man was accused by another married woman of stealing her plastic bucket. What? On New Year's Day? I tried to intervene, I pleaded with the married man to release the bucket to her, I promised to get another plastic bucket for him immediately but he won’t budge. I walked away with sheer disappointment, my plan to start the year as a peacekeeper was unsuccessful so I moved on to other things. It’s New Year's Day, you know? Oh, I almost forgot my sister's betday. My younger brother reminded everyone that Bombay is a year older today and I had to call her immediately. Procrastinating and postponing important duties would be a very bad way to start the year. So, I decided to write something New Year-like. I decided to write on New Year resolutions. Who does that anymore? 

A New Year's resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behavior, to accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve their life. Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. In the Medieval era, the knights took the "peacock vow" at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry. At watch night services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions.

At the end of the Great Depression, about a quarter of American adults formed New Year's resolutions. At the start of the 21st century, about 40% did. In fact, according to the American Medical Association (AMA), approximately 40% - 50% of Americans participate in the New Year's resolution tradition from the 1995 Epcot and 1985 Gallop Polls. A study found 46% of participants who made common New Year's resolutions (e.g. weight loss, exercise programs, quitting smoking) were likely to succeed, over ten times as much as those who decided to make life changes at other times of the year. 

(Source: Wikipedia.com) 

Lastly, in the course of putting this article together, I had a few discussions on the topic with some of my readers. Evelyn Onwaniban believes that New Year resolutions signifies setting new goals and working tirelessly to make them work. Similarly, Asa Oluwafolakemi also noted that New Year resolutions are important ways to reflects on past mistakes and make concrete efforts to make ourselves better people in the new calendar. Taiwo Olusanya also noted that the popular saying; "New Year, New System" goes a long way to authenticate the importance of New Year resolutions. 

Conclusively, I also believe that New Year resolutions are important yardsticks to measure success and track personal development but I do not believe that we need to wait for the first day in the year to change for the better or set goals for ourselves, what do you think?

Happy New Year.

God Bless Us All

Olusanya, Oluwole Sheriff