Are New Year resolutions important?

New Year’s resolutions have become a secular practice. This is because most people make resolutions only to themselves and focus purely on self-improvement. Though it’s inevitable to make, most New Year resolutions do fail, yet we keep making them. The custom of making New Year’s resolutions happens all over the world. In Nigeria, it has […]

New Year’s resolutions have become a secular practice. This is because most people make resolutions only to themselves and focus purely on self-improvement. Though it’s inevitable to make, most New Year resolutions do fail, yet we keep making them. The custom of making New Year’s resolutions happens all over the world. In Nigeria, it has become a trend but then how much do we know about New Year resolutions? 

Findings have shown that in 1740, the English clergyman, John Wesley, founder of Methodism created the Covenant Renewal Service, most commonly held on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. Also known as watch night services, they included readings from Scriptures and hymn singing and served as a spiritual alternative to the raucous celebrations normally held to celebrate the coming of the New Year. The practice which has become popular within evangelical Protestant churches, watch night services are held on New Year’s Eve and are often spent praying and making resolutions for the coming year. The question now is, “Are New Year resolutions Important?” LifeXtra spoke to some Nigerians and this is what they had to say.

Isiyaku Muhammed, an Abuja-based journalist thinks that New Year resolutions are very important “Because as far I am concerned, they have to do with firm decisions and targets that can help in improving one’s happiness in the coming year. I am more inclined to designing resolutions because it has convinced me from previous experiences that if done right, they will definitely improve life, happiness and chance of being successful.”

Modline Chris, a baker, says she thinks New Year resolutions are important to some people while for others it’s not. In the past, she thought New Year resolutions only involve something one normally does but has decided to put a stop to it in the coming year. Now she sees it in another light. “Now I know it encompasses a whole lot more. For me it means setting goals that must be achieved within that year, these goals include improving myself in various areas of interest, developing myself spiritually.”

She added that it is also important that one who believes in New Year resolutions should be committed to achieving those goals. “In fact, only those who believe in New Year resolutions can be committed to it.”

On the contrary, a Port Harcourt-based banker, Ben Victor believes that New Year resolutions are totally needless and unimportant. He said that there is no difference between a preceding year and the succeeding year. It is just a change of numbers, of years and of age, from 2016 to 2017 and from 27 years to 28 years and nothing more. Life continues. “The weather remains the same, challenges remain the same and your looks remain the same. Everything is just the same. Instead of dwelling on New year resolutions, people should just strive to make today better than yesterday and make tomorrow, better than today.”

Ben is not alone in his opinion as Kit Yee Cheng in an online discussion forum enumerated reasons why he feels New Year resolutions are not feasible. Therefore there isn’t any for him because they rarely work.

Cheng further stated: “A New Year’s resolution lacks clarity on what one wants to achieve. For example, some say “I want to lose weight.” How much weight and by when? We need a specific number, for example how much weight we want to lose and by when. We need to break down our goal into smaller chunks in order for the goal to work. A New Year’s resolution lacks all of these vital numbers and details. A new year’s resolution is merely there for people to procrastinate. It is only set once a year. A goal however, can be set any time of the year and it is much more powerful and has clarity when one knows about how goal-setting works.

“Goal setting allows us to set smaller goals in order to achieve the bigger goal that we have in mind. For example, I want to become a public speaker and in order to achieve that I joined Toastmasters and have delivered four prepared speeches from our Competent Communication manual. I have learned to feel comfortable whilst on stage delivering different speeches, prepared and impromptu ones,” he said.