By Babatunde Ayedoju

What are your new year resolutions?” Mr Nnamdi asked Dayo at the beginning of the year. “I don’t believe in new year resolutions because many of the people who make such resolutions, few months into the year, usually forget everything that they promised to do or avoid doing,” Dayo responded. Mr Nnamdi went further, “It is very good to make resolutions for the new year, especially in the first month of the year, because that will encourage you to keep the resolutions.”

Dayo who was adamant insisted, “There’s nothing special about the first month of the year. There’s no time of the year that one cannot make resolutions; it doesn’t have to be in the first month. What will help you keep your resolutions is determination, not the month you made it. More so, I don’t believe in new year resolutions.”

The conversation above contains important points on people’s perspectives about what is commonly called new year resolutions.

We are in the latter stage of the year and a lot of people must have made resolutions at the beginning of this year. These are promises people make, mostly in January, about things they want to do differently in the new year. It has to do with virtues they want to inculcate, habits they want to drop, decisions they need to make or postpone and things that they need to do differently, among others.

However, experience has shown that many people are not able to hold on to the promises they made to themselves. As the year progresses, quite a number of individuals who have made these resolutions forget what they said and may have to repeat the same resolutions next year.

What could be the reason why a lot of people are not able to follow their new year resolutions through? Are the new year resolutions even important or necessary in the first place? How many of the people who made resolutions at the beginning of this year still remember what they promised to do or not do this year?

Dr Mrs. Kemi Adebola, a sociologist, noted that new year resolutions are very good and helpful because they help to move the maker closer to his or her targets in life. However, she pointed that from a sociological point of view, new year resolution is about behavioural change, because making a resolution shows that the individual has targets and goals that he or she wants to achieve.

“Behavioural changes are not achieved on a platter of gold; it will take discipline to achieve them. If you are not disciplined enough, in a short while you may forget that you made new year resolutions because the human life wants what it wants. It is you that will either agree to give it to it or not. When you fail, try again,” she added.

Dr Salman Adisa, a psychologist, said that the current economic hardship in the country is enough to make people forget whatever resolution they might have made at the beginning of the year, adding that a lot of people are also not able to keep their resolutions because the decisions they made are not realistic. He emphasized that what some people lack capacity to do in two years is what they want to achieve within a very short time.

He, therefore, advised people to commit their lives into God’s hands and avoid setting lofty targets that they may not have the capacity to actualize.

Several other people expressed divergent opinions about new year resolution and how they handle it in their daily lives. For example, Elijah Adejimi, an environmentalist, opined that he believes in making new year resolution and he actually does it yearly because it helps him to set agenda for his life daily, not just for the year

“I did make some resolutions at the beginning of this year, which basically reflected my desire to make the year count better than previous years. To a significant extent, I have made good my resolutions, but I am not pressured to fulfil my resolution as I just made it a lifestyle to always resolve to make life and living better from time to time,” he said.

Adejimi also stated that new year resolution is effective when it is done with all intentionality and sense of responsibility to be committed to it.

Mike Adegeye, an undergraduate student of Guidance and Counseling, said that he made resolutions at the beginning of this year and has been able to keep them to some extent, though he is not a firm believer in the practice. He also opined that whether a new year resolution will be effective or not depends on the intentional of the person who made it.

Joyous Shallangwa, a photographer, said that she believes in making new year resolutions because “it shows that one is planning ahead, which is a wise thing to do.” While saying that she has been able to achieve her resolutions for this year, to a large extent, she attributed that feat to the fact that there are people she is accountable to who can always remind her of everything she promised to do at the beginning of the year.

She also advised that anybody who is making new year resolutions should endeavour to write them down and make sure that they are achievable goals. She also encouraged splitting them into goals for the year, month,, week and day, saying that it is a more effective way to handle resolutions.

Mary Ogunyemi, a business woman, also said that she believes in New Year resolutions and did set some for herself at the beginning of this year which she has been careful to keep. Ogunyemi attributed her ability to keep New Year  resolutions to the fact that she wrote them in a book and regularly prayed over the contents.

On the other hand, some people have reservations about the practice of making New Year resolutions. One of them, Chidinma Dinwoke, a publisher, said that she does not believe in New Year resolutions but believes in making changes in her life whenever she sees the need. According to her, she believes that she does not have to wait until the beginning of a new year before making a resolution.

Comfort Msheila, a businesswoman, also disagrees with new year resolution, saying, “I believe in setting goals for myself and ensuring that they are achieved.

She, however, added that those who make New Year resolutions may find such resolutions effective if they are disciplined enough to implement them.

In the words of Paul Isah, a farmer, “I do not make New Year resolutions but I do set goals, trusting God to lead me through.”

Isah, who said New Year resolution and goal setting are not the same, added that the effectiveness of New Year resolution, for those who believe in it, will depend on the person who sets it and the unforeseen challenges that might come on the way.

Fara Akinyanmi, a medical practitioner, said that she makes New Year resolutions every year, and most of them have been achieved so far

She said, “I set goals and time frames too. If you’re unable to fulfill resolutions for the year, do an appraisal and take strategic actions to help you do better in the new year. It doesn’t always have to be yearly. It could be once in six months, annually, or biannually. It depends on the goal.”

Kehinde Ekhasomi, an artist, describes New Year resolution as important, as it helps in achieving set goals

Her words: “I make resolutions every year to improve my physical health, learn a new skill, and spend quality time with loved ones. I also keep it 100 percent, though there might be some ups and downs during the year. For example, I’ve been able to maintain my resolutions for most of this year with some setbacks. I’ve started exercising regularly, three times in a week; I’ve completed two online courses and scheduled monthly family dinners.*