A similar practice occurred in ancient Rome, after the reform-minded emperor Julius Caesar tinkered with the calendar and established January 1 as the beginning of the new year circa 46 B.C. Named for Janus, the two-faced god whose spirit inhabited doorways and arches, January had special significance for the Romans. Believing that Janus symbolically looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future, the Romans offered sacrifices to the deity and made promises of good conduct for the coming year.
For early Christians, the first day of the new year became the traditional occasion for thinking about one’s past mistakes and resolving to do and be better in the future. 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 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. Now popular within evangelical Protestant churches, especially African-American denominations and congregations, watch night services held on New Year’s Eve are often spent praying and making resolutions for the coming year.
Despite the tradition’s religious roots, New Year’s resolutions today are a mostly secular practice. Instead of making promises to the gods, most people make resolutions only to themselves, and focus purely on self-improvement (which may explain why such resolutions seem so hard to follow through on). According to recent research, while as many as 45 percent of Americans say they usually make New Year’s resolutions, only 8 percent are successful in achieving their goals. But that dismal record probably won’t stop people from making resolutions anytime soon—after all, we’ve had about 4,000 years of practice.
It is very easy to say what one wants to do, but it’s not easy to do those things. You are human, not a kind of programmed robot. You need to act human. At a point in time, the enthusiasm that keeps us moving towards our goal wears off. You need to find a source of motivation. Your need to find a source of power, You need to look for your “power bank”. That focused determination of January 1 is not what will keep you moving till December 31st. Someone said: “to love someone is not a decision you make once, it’s a decision you make everyday” so is achieving your “New Year Resolutions”, you need a constant reminder.
You can do it, you just need to keep making this decision every time. Get motivational book, listen to motivational speakers, get short powerful motivational clips, rub minds with enlightened people.. Go for seminars keep empowering your New Year Resolution’s drive. Evaluate yourself daily. Just keep moving, if you can’t fly, run! if you can’t run, walk! If you can’t walk, crawl! Just don’t stop, keep moving.
By Johnson Okunade
