For ages, millions of people have made new year's resolutions, aspiring to be better or make positive changes in the new year.
The practice of making new year's resolutions was already well established by the 1860s, as seen in one of Mark Twain's letters.
"Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath," he wrote on January 1, 1863. "Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever. We shall also reflect pleasantly upon how we did the same old thing last year about this time."
The new calendar year, or division of time, i.e., after a weekend, creates the sense that we have a fresh start, often called the Fresh-Start Effect. After the previous year's or week's failures, we now have time to close a chapter, start over, and try again.
Although many of us set goals or new year's resolutions, we often fail to stick to them. However, we can push through and reach our goals if we change our game plan.
These seven actionable steps can help you turn resolutions into results!
