Do they work? The psychology of New Year resolutions

Many of us make grandiose resolutions just to leave them behind like last year. Why do we fail to adhere to them?

- SUMIT PAUL

Whenever a New Year is on the anvil, a gush of resolutions will be in the air. Now again we're getting ready to welcome 2025 with a new set of resolutions, only to break them ere long. Aren't new year resolutions like dew-drops on the leaves of grass; destined to fizzle out on the very first day of the new year? They sure are. New year resolutions are like a lover's outlandish promises or a politician's ambiguous assurances. Both are never fulfilled. They are like eggs, so easily breakable.

Yet, many of us make grandiose resolutions just to leave them behind like last year. Why do we fail to adhere to them? We fail because we often make impractical and outlandish resolutions and are never serious about implementing them in our lives. If you want to get rid of a bad habit, why should you wait for the next year to divest yourself of it? Drop it the moment you think that this is not good. Tomorrow never comes. Kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab (What's to be done tomorrow, do it today and what needs to be done today must be finished right now).