I have always been fascinated by the concept of new year resolutions. It is almost like a capsule of all the good intentions that one can have. It is like one of those rare flowers, (I think it is called kurinji in Tamil) which blooms only once in 12 years, only to fade again as quickly as it came.
I have tried to give up the habit of making new year resolutions for quite a while now, but even if I don't declare something formally as my new year resolution, I find myself unconsciously becoming determined that I would achieve something worthwhile or do something better this year and Hey Presto! I have a New Year Resolution even before I know it. Needless to say, not one of those good resolutions has materialised fully till now.
What causes the human brain to make resolutions? Fundamentally, I think we are a dissatisfied lot. The ability of the human mind to reflect analytically and/emotionally on past happenings and dissecting them into some specific cause-effect relationships is no doubt well established. But it is during some landmarks in time such as birthdays or New Years that there is this trigger which prompts reflection much more than during normal times. Again maybe the human mind is fundamentally optimistic? There is always the inclination to believe that the future will be better than the past if one takes the necessary actions... maybe that is what has made our race so successful?
But then, what prevents most resolutions from seeing the light of the day when it comes to action? In my opinion, it is that reflection is generally almost completely internal but action is completely external. And being external, there are a lot of forces in the environment that influence action a lot more than they would influence reflection. The really exceptional people can focus upon their reflections and use them to take the necessary actions to influence the environment in such a way that the reflections bear fruit in terms of actions and results. Will I be one of them? Till date, I haven't been able to achieve even a tenth of what I set out to do, but that will not keep me from trying :-).
I have tried to give up the habit of making new year resolutions for quite a while now, but even if I don't declare something formally as my new year resolution, I find myself unconsciously becoming determined that I would achieve something worthwhile or do something better this year and Hey Presto! I have a New Year Resolution even before I know it. Needless to say, not one of those good resolutions has materialised fully till now.
What causes the human brain to make resolutions? Fundamentally, I think we are a dissatisfied lot. The ability of the human mind to reflect analytically and/emotionally on past happenings and dissecting them into some specific cause-effect relationships is no doubt well established. But it is during some landmarks in time such as birthdays or New Years that there is this trigger which prompts reflection much more than during normal times. Again maybe the human mind is fundamentally optimistic? There is always the inclination to believe that the future will be better than the past if one takes the necessary actions... maybe that is what has made our race so successful?
But then, what prevents most resolutions from seeing the light of the day when it comes to action? In my opinion, it is that reflection is generally almost completely internal but action is completely external. And being external, there are a lot of forces in the environment that influence action a lot more than they would influence reflection. The really exceptional people can focus upon their reflections and use them to take the necessary actions to influence the environment in such a way that the reflections bear fruit in terms of actions and results. Will I be one of them? Till date, I haven't been able to achieve even a tenth of what I set out to do, but that will not keep me from trying :-).
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