A Muslim Perspective: New year’s Resolutions Are Great, But Only If You Actually Do It
Each New Year’s Day people make resolutions to improve on something.
The new year is coming soon. What is the one thing that millions of people do at the beginning of each year?
Make New Year’s Resolutions list & Set Goals.
But there are some people who are saying that new year’s resolutions are pointless.
I disagree.
Set yourself a goal for each year and Make it a reality. you will be a better person each year.
Some people keep having queries, what’s the new year’s resolution?
Here’s some food for thought
As New Year’s resolutions roll around when every year comes to end & we will start to see millions of people mapping out their intentions for the upcoming year and making new year’s resolutions, hoping to spark positive change. It always seems like a good idea to approach the new year with a big optimistic career plan about how we’re going to use it as a fresh start, to become better, more successful people. It’s common for people to make a new year’s resolution, identifying a personal weakness and a solution to remedy it. Each year, people firmly believe that this will be the year, the year something is better than the previous. They make promises to themselves yet fail to keep them.
But nearly a year on, I wonder on results are often mixed. only a small fraction of them manage to keep them. But they remain a nice way to embark on a fresh year.
To me, New Year’s resolutions have become a ritual and a great opportunity to stop and reflect on how life has been going up until then.
As I mentioned in my poem about the new Year.
I believe the end of the year and the start of new years is traditionally a time for reflecting on lessons learned from the past 12 months and looking to the future with optimism, excitement, and opportunity.
Although this can be exercised at any point in time and I often try to do so more frequently. I enjoy the tradition of reflecting and feeling connected to myself and others during this special tradition. Looking back, for many years my new year’s wishes consisted of things about myself I wanted to change, or where I fell short, both of which were rooted in a lack of acceptance of myself. I was convinced that applying a few “simple” changes to myself and my life would result in an overall happier feeling.
Can A Muslim Make New Years Resolutions :
The Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH Said: “Take Benefit of Five Before Five, Your Youth Before Your Old Age, Your Health Before Your Sickness, Your Wealth Before Your Poverty, Your Free Time Before Your Preoccupation, & Your Life Before Your Death”.
It’s only natural that at the start of a new year that one would reflect on the year and make plans to improve, just need to our new year’s resolutions are realistic and that you have good intentions behind them all.
“Verily, Allah has recorded good and bad deeds and Allah made them clear. Whoever intends to perform a good deed but does not do it, then Allah will record it as a complete good deed. If they intend to do it and do so, then Allah the Exalted will record it as ten good deeds up to seven hundred times as much or even more. If they intend to do a bad deed and does not do it, then Allah will record for them one complete good deed. If they do it, then Allah will record for them a single bad deed.” Bukhari and Muslim
Psychology Explains The Difficulty Behind Keeping New Year’s Resolutions :
Studies show that Each January, approximately 45% percent will make New Year’s resolutions. Only 10% are actually successful at keeping them, & 1 in 3 people ditch their vows by the end of January. rest of the new year resolutions never get executed. The reason is your brain doesn’t like abrupt changes in the body or lifestyle.
In Behavioral Economics, this is intention-action gap.
New year’s resolutions are fun to make but extremely difficult to maintain.
How Do You Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions :
Action is the basis of all success. Every action may not give success but at the same time, no success is possible without action. We become what we think. By thinking of the future you, when choosing the actions you take today, you are exercising a level of influence towards your self-identity. Realistic intentions and add inspired action and over time it will come to fruition.
Don’t rush, flow into this change in trajectory.
Good things are coming.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
A man may be equipped with tonnes of theory. He may have the best of skills, the most positive of attitudes, and the strongest of beliefs. But if he just sits on his butt with all these attributes, nothing is going to come out of it.
Let every man or woman here remember this, that if you wish to be great at all, you must begin where you are and with what you are. He who would be great anywhere must first be great in his own Philadelphia. Russel H. Conwell
So, there are some things to keep in mind when making resolutions, regardless of the time of year. This isn’t just for new year’s resolutions, this is for goal setting in general.
It’s often hard to stick to your resolution for the rest of the year, especially when it’s the end. For me, The main key to sticking to your resolutions is having a realistic resolution that you really want to stick to.
In this video, Dr. Rebecca Heiss shares the idea to stick to your resolution of the new year.
Small changes work, specific, immediately achievable resolution at a time in pursuit of a big goal that is important to you. Small changes can help you build momentum and keep going.
So, what can be done?
I have found the best ways are:
1. Self-Accountability :
Nowadays people don’t take care of themselves in the right way, because responsibility isn’t in doing things that you like to do but in doing things that are necessary and valuable for that person and environment. So, Personal accountability is extremely important for people who work for themselves but it’s surely not the easiest thing to do.
Accountable is required or expected to justify actions or decisions; responsible; able to be explained or understood.
Self-Accountability is nothing more than doing what you say you will. Taking ownership or responsibility of an action or outcome and ensuring that it gets done. Self-Accountability is really a mindset and a continuous, conscious decision to take responsibility for your life and actions. It means every time you decide to pop a bag of chips instead of going for a run, you have to consciously remind yourself that you are responsible for living a better life and only you can make sure of it. Eventually, it becomes a habit but the initial push is necessary.
We expect accountability in others but find it easy to justify our own failure to hold ourselves accountable. It requires honesty, self-reflection, and a clear identity and belief in what you are doing. When you have these you can admit to any shortcomings and hold yourself accountable rather than making excuses or blaming external factors. Think of it as doing the right thing even when nobody is watching you.
How can we be more accountable to ourselves?
First, you really need to accountabilities your current life and then create a simple list of marginal changes that can be brought to complete them. It’s a challenge to hold yourself accountable because Accountability is hard, and not always fun. Accountability is also necessary, whether you are able to do it independently or need a little help along the way.
I’m sure there are lots of ways to deal with it. Some people like the public accountability method which has always helped you stick to your plans and get results. That’s why these people try to find the right accountability partner. This could be someone you pay or someone you trust just to make sure that whomever you choose will hold you accountable when things are going great easy as well as when they are not very difficult. As you work with this accountability partner, you will develop your personal accountability muscle.
But for me, The best way is to keep a journal of what you do and the consequences. Keep an honest accounting of yourself. People who lie habitually do it mostly to themselves. Be honest with yourself and it will become a habit, to be honest with others.
2. Self-Discipline :
Self-discipline is underrated and external motivation is an overrated Discipline is an act of self-care. Self-discipline entails the power to resist temptation and regulate one’s actions and emotions in order to achieve desired goals. Self-discipline and control are important components of success.
Self-respect is the fruit of discipline. Abraham J. Heschel
Our capacity to exercise self-control is determined by setting realistic targets which are clearly defined as well as working consistently towards achieving them. It requires recognizing a sense of agency which serves as one of the key performance indicators in an individual’s life.
Psychology says without self-discipline, success is impossible.
Self-control is an important skill to develop because these same emotions occur in any person who feels that their needs or desires are not being met. However, a person who lacks self-control may respond in a variety of ways including with anger, physical violence, or by turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Some ways to enhance self-discipline are :
So yes, having self-control means taking full ownership of your day. You can do this in different ways.
For example:
- Clearly define your goals. When goals are abstract, the impetus to work towards them diminishes. Have goals that are measurable, realistic, and time-bound in order to hone a sense of self-discipline.
- Enlist the obstacles in your path. Often when we set on the journey of self-improvement, we encounter roadblocks. Identify them and keep your ultimate goal in mind while devoting your efforts.
- Monitor your progress periodically and reward yourself. The journey of imbibing self-discipline may require you to keep a track of your progress in any domain of functioning along with rewarding your efforts.
The secret to Self-Discipline :
I needed to watch this, cravings are hard to get over The secret to self-control by Jonathan Bricker.
I accept that part of self-discipline is knowing when to push forward and when to scale back. Instead of being overwhelmed by deadlines and expectations, I give myself permission to be realistic about my ability to perform. My best is good enough.
3. Be Clear, Be Concise, and Be Courageous :
The new year resolution is to follow the 3 C’s: Be Clear, Be Concise, and Be Courageous which are really important to achieve the targeted goal and result at the end of the year. I think Expectations should be clear, fair, and concise.
“Relax, allow the mind to become empty, and surprise yourself with the great treasure that begins to flow from your soul.” Paulo Coelho
I learned very quickly that in life, A clear and concise goal must be established in order to succeed, I know exactly what I’m aiming for it.
“Never quit. It is the easiest cop-out in the world. Set a goal and don’t quit until you attain it. When you do attain it, set another goal, and don’t quit until you reach it. Never quit.” Bear Bryant
4. Limit Your Resolutions :
While you might have a long list of potential New Year’s resolutions, in my opinion, you should be a limit towards the amount of goals you should have. Because Firstly, focusing and having a broad spectrum of goals it could distract you from achieving your main goals in life. Secondly having many goals have a negative impact because it differs away from reality and what you can achieve, it gives out a facade or perception that places you in the second world.
Richard Wiseman, a professor of psychology at Hertfordshire University, suggests that you pick just one and focus your energies on it rather than spreading yourself too thin among a number of different objectives.
If you tried to work on 20 different goals you set for yourself you’d get burnt out quickly. Focusing on 4–5 goals a day is what works best for me personally.
5. Make It A Habit :
Most of us are creatures of habit and tend to do things on autopilot. For instance, every morning I want a cup of coffee before I want to do anything else. However, when I was pregnant, I stopped drinking coffee. The first few days were brutal. I was grumpy and irritable. I had headaches. Yet after about a month I stopped even thinking about the coffee and went immediately for a glass of water.
Conventional wisdom is that it takes about 21 days to make a habit. So for the first few weeks, you’ll have to try really hard to make your resolution work. But after that, your resolution should become a habit. It will become automatic and you won’t think too much about it.
6. Track Your Progress :
I can’t stress how important it is to keep a journal where you record your feelings and healing process. In the swirl of life, it’s easy to lose commitment because our memory can be unreliable and if you don’t keep track of your progress, you may get easily discouraged and have a higher chance of giving up on things altogether.
“When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported back, the rate of improvement accelerates.” Pearson’s Law
There are many different ways to track your progress toward your goals. I want to share this amazing article with you where you could learn to track progress with the 4 ways that I use to track my progress in achieving my goals.
7. Learn and Adapt :
The smartest & most successful people fail more than average. This has been studied, look it up. Failure in and of itself is clearly not indicative of future success, it shows a willingness to adapt & learn from mistakes. Not learning from your mistakes increases the likelihood of procrastinating over retaking action. Also, if it didn’t work the first time, don’t do it again, expecting a different result; that leads to disappointment.
There is no way to succeed and progress if one cannot admit his mistakes, adapt his approach, and can’t be flexible in his strategy. Growth requires a continuous need to learn and an insatiable desire for knowledge.
Always test, learn, and adapt as you go.
My New year 2022 Resolutions :
When it comes to new year resolutions, this is our time as Muslims. Whilst making resolutions to add new actions to our lives is important, abandoning sin and resolving to stay away can sometimes be even more pleasing to Allah and make positive life changes in our lives. However, as the year progresses it often seems that we forget those promises to ourselves. Whether it is a Muslim new year or western, it is a good time for Muslims to renew the resolutions.
I believe as a Muslim and ordinary human beings, we just need a minute-by-minute resolution because death seeks us all. So, As a Muslim, I simply want to sacrifice evil wills to please Allah & to be a better Muslim like I’m supposed to be. It’s my flaws that make me desperate for Allah.
A list of resolutions should be written down so one can refer to them throughout the year. They should include spiritual, as well as physical and mental practices, for Allah encompasses all of our lives and not just the hours in which we pray.
1. Be Thankful To Allah
2. Focus On Prayer (Salat)
3. Recite More Holy Quran
4. Having The Right Intention
5. Be More Patient
6. Increase In Dhikr
7. Every Moment Is A Moment To Change
8. Clear Out The Clutter
9. Travel On A Small Budget
10. Write Down One Thing You’re Grateful For Every Night
11. Don’t Buy Things You Don’t Need
12. Start A New Hobby
13. Stick To My Daily To-Do List
14. Focus Your Morning On Yourself
15. Apply Some Amazing Productivity Principle System
Duas For The End Year & Also New Year :
Dua is very important in the life of Muslims because Dua is like a conversation with Allah Almighty in which we put our needs before Him and ask His help in the resolution of our problems. Dua is not only a submission about our need before Allah Almighty but it is a form of worship as well. In one of the Hadith the Holy Prophet peace and blessings of Allah Almighty be upon him described the Dua to be the essence of worship.
The strength and power of Dua are beyond our imaginations.
Final Thoughts :
The start of a new year is the perfect time to turn a new page, which is probably why so many people make New Year’s resolutions. The new year often feels like a fresh start and a great opportunity to change bad habits and establish new routines that will help you grow psychologically, emotionally, socially, physically, or intellectually. Of course, resolutions are much easier to make than to keep, and by the end of the year, many of us have abandoned our resolve and settled back into our old patterns.
For the past few months, I’ve been really wanting to work on myself to become a better person. I thought to myself, “okay I’ll start productive principle as ritual routine as a New Years Resolution”. So I’ve been waiting. And waiting so I could set it as a resolution, part of my fresh start to the new year. Then comes December and I realize that I’ve wasted the past few months waiting for the new year to start this goal. If I had just started when I originally had the idea, I’d be so much further along in my progress.
Here, I shared my two most favorite inspiring Prince EV’s videos with you where he takes his part of the time from his life just to inspire us to be something bigger than we are. I have watched these two videos many times. They are in my opinion the best wise words for everyone.
I definitely feel the same way like, I can be so much better if I eliminate distractions like how people suggest how I should live my life and how I want to be better, but because I’m scared of judgment and stuff I cant truly be the best I possibly can be. So in all, we all need to just be ourselves and have character and self-respect for ourselves and be great. Things you cherish like popularity will come for the right reasons.
I wish more people would see these two videos and all his other videos!
Thank you for inspiring so many people
My advice to myself and everyone:
First; you don’t have to wait for the new year to start a new goal. New Years Resolutions are nice and all, but they come with a lot of pressure and it is very rare to ever actually stick to it. Avoid giving yourself a strict timeframe, as it only creates negative feelings around the goal. Keep it positive.
Second; Not every day is going to be the same. Understand that missing a day, a few days or even a few weeks doesn’t mean you can’t start up again. You still made progress, that isn’t lost. I dislike the current concept of New Year’s Resolutions, that is if you miss a day, there’s no point in it anymore. You are a failure. There is no wrong time to set yourself a new goal and start working on it. Every day is an opportunity. Don’t waste that precious time. Start now, rather than wait for the new year and deal with all the pressures then.
Pressure doesn’t always help us to stick to something. Instead, keep it flexible and relaxed. If strict resolutions didn’t work for you, try another method. You got this.
In the end, I would say that Remember that change is a process. Those unhealthy or undesired habits that you are trying to change probably took years to develop, so how can you expect to change them in just a matter of days, weeks, or months?
At the start of each New Year people across the country set resolutions. This blog will help you decide on what to make your New Year’s Resolution, but more importantly, how to stick to it throughout the whole year and beyond!
Be patient with yourself. And Keep learning!!
I will be calmer, I will spread love as long as I can, I will live a spiritual life, I would do what I please no matter what and I would prove my theories.
Always start your day with renewing your intention that everything you do for yourself and your community, whether it be your acts of worship or daily chores. It all has to be merely for the sake of Allah (SWT) and Also, I ask Allah (SWT) to make my work dedicated only to him and forgiveness from Allah (SWT), if I have got anything wrong. It is He who is the hearing, the knowing.
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