What If You’re Not Into New Year’s Resolutions?
Around the start of the year there is always pressure to map out major goals, but why do we never stick with them?
Around the start of the new year there seems to always be talk about what goals you should be setting for the next 365 days. The reason for this societal trend is credited to the ancient Babylonians who are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year — though for them the year began not in January but in mid-March, when the crops were planted. During a massive 12-day religious festival known as Akitu, the Babylonians crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king. They also made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. These promises could be considered the forerunners of our New Year’s resolutions. If the Babylonians kept to their word, their (pagan) gods would bestow favor on them for the coming year. If not, they would fall out of the gods’ favor — a place no one wanted to be. [Source]
January 12th is said to be the date when most people report failing their resolution. Top resolutions for Americans are usually loose weight, travel more, save more money, read more, learn a new hobby/skill, buy a house, quit smoking and find love. However, only 8 percent of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions are successful in achieving their goals. (According to Strava, the social network for athletes.)
So why do our New Year’s resolutions usually fail? The most common reasons are that we feel overwhelmed or discouraged, our goals are not clear and we’re actually not ready to change. One tip on helping you become closer to achieving your goals is to make sure that they are SMART goals.
- Specific (simple, sensible, significant)
- Measurable (meaningful, motivating)
- Achievable (agreed, attainable)
- Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based)
- Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive)
In this episode of the So-Called Oreos Podcast, the four hosts go into what their personal goals are for 2020 (before knowing a pandemic would hit) and how they plan to stick with it for the year. The conversation then turns to what specific resolutions should be for Black people and the Black community this year. Kia’s goal is for us to stop telling Black women who wear weaves that they want white people texture, to stop supporting cultural appropriators like the Kardashians and to stop giving certain celebrities and institutions a pass on racism. Back people being more open about physical and mental health is Janae’s goal.
Amari wishes for the community to realize that colorism is a result of colonialism, thrust upon Black people so we never fully unite and rise above white supremacy as one collective, powerful body. There are other systems at work to suppress and divide us, such as capitalism and Black people need to realize the power of their dollar and stop giving it to entities that do not support them but instead use them as props for their own societal and economic gain. Rachel’s intention for Black people is for them to understand the importance of financial literacy and to continue to buy Black and support the community.
Remember that “a dream without a plan is just a wish.”
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