Many people decide during the New Year holidays: "Now I'm definitely starting a new life. I will get rid of bad habits, get the right ones, and then great achievements are not far away." We decided to figure out how such promises can be useful and whether they can be harmful.
The first days of January may be the most suitable time for changes, and the promises made before the holiday will help you determine your goals and not lose motivation. And that's not all — that's what else they are useful for.
In December, thousands of lists of desired changes appear on social networks. They very often have the intention to move more and do sports, eat right, learn languages, devote time to hobbies and not forget about family.
These are wonderful wishes. However, you should not just take options from other people or add items popular on the Network to the list. If you really want to change, think about what goals will be close to you.
Perhaps you would like to increase your income. Then you should look for opportunities that will allow you to jump to a new level from your current position. For example, to weigh up what additional tasks you can perform, and after the holidays, talk to your boss about a salary increase.
Or find courses that will allow you to significantly improve your professional level.
Or maybe it's time for you to change jobs, and you're ready to start looking for suitable options right after the weekend. Or, perhaps, you will decide to take a hobby seriously at all — for example, start sewing original leather goods and arrange their sale.
In order for you to work and master new skills, you will need strength and energy. Here you can remember about healthy eating and about training. Well, self-organization skills will help you keep up with everything.
So an approximate plan of action for the future is ready. But the first step in drawing it up is to choose a goal that really motivates you. That is, to determine your own priorities.
Let's say you decide to sew leather bags and backpacks. For some, this activity brings a decent income. But do not seriously expect that with the help of your favorite craft you will save up for a villa by the sea in six months. And if you decide to learn French from scratch, it is unlikely that you will be able to speak this language as your native language by the summer.
If you have already set a goal, making a list of New Year's promises may encourage you to study the situation in your chosen areas in depth. To make a list of feasible desires, it is worth finding out how quickly people make progress in a similar situation and what realistic milestones you should strive for.
Such a New Year's list can become a compass that will help you stay on the course you have chosen.
If you are really attracted to your chosen goals, a list of steps to achieve them can serve as a good motivator.
Almost everyone is familiar with the state when enthusiasm becomes less, and the result, despite regular steps in the chosen direction, seems too far away. At such moments, a list of recorded promises can help. Just try to do what you've decided to do. Even if it seems that you have overestimated your strength too much, and regular efforts seem pointless.
After a while, you will suddenly feel that there is a result after all.
For example, it seems to you that the daily 5 kilometers that you try to walk in any weather have not made you either stronger or more resilient. But one day you will need to quickly climb a long staircase. And it turns out that you have run a hundred steps and are not tired, although a couple of months ago you would have been trying to regain your breath for a long time.
Therefore, if motivation drops, read the list of your promises and take at least a small step out of the planned ones. And then another one. If nothing changes, check if you are still attracted to the recorded goals.
This is an unexpected but very pleasant bonus. It happens that in the process of moving towards the chosen goals, a person discovers new hobbies.
For example, to learn a complex language, you need not only a good memory, but also the ability to abandon the usual patterns of thinking, because phrases and sentences have to be built quite differently. And in order to pump up the brain, a person decides to take up chess. And after a while he notices that he enjoys playing a couple of games online every day.
Attractive goals are valuable gifts that you prepare for yourself in the future. Well, the anticipation of the joy of receiving these trophies is a very pleasant experience.
We often feel New Year's mood when we are looking for gifts for others. If we choose anything for ourselves and at the same time do not limit our imagination, we can feel the holiday coming even more strongly.
The disadvantages of this tool often become a continuation of its advantages. That's what you should be afraid of when formulating New Year's promises.
This happens if you can't get started after the holidays. For example, you decided to run in the morning, but you are very uncomfortable going out to train in cold weather. A week passes, then a month without jogging. And you understand that even thinking about the list of promises, where there was an item about playing sports, causes only irritation and disbelief in your own strength.
To prevent this from happening, remember that any plan can be adjusted.
If you don't want to go out in the cold, think about doing yoga in a warm room. And rewrite this paragraph.
Another frequent case. During the holidays, you may experience a strong emotional uplift. In this state, all tasks seem simple, and the possibilities are endless. But then you realize that you overestimated your strength. And you can dance or learn foreign words not every day, but 2-3 times a week. This means that the achievements will eventually turn out to be much more modest than we would like.
And again, don't be afraid to adjust plans and deadlines. Coming to the desired success later is much better than giving it up altogether.
Let's say you decide to learn how to play the guitar. But after a month, you realized that you no longer want to endure constant pain in your fingertips. You are told that it will pass over time, the main thing is to practice regularly. But you perceive every lesson as an unpleasant duty. And when you think about how you play the guitar all evening in the company of friends, you want to get rid of the instrument urgently.
But this point can turn from a minus into a plus. Perhaps you should just reconsider the goals. You've tried it, and now you know exactly what activity you don't want to continue, what you don't want to waste time and energy on. In this case, abandoning the plan can bring a sense of freedom. And then you may feel that you have the strength and time for other purposes.
Remember: whether to make New Year's promises to yourself or not is up to you. However, you can try and determine whether this tool is convenient for you and whether it will help you get closer to your chosen goals.
