NEW YEAR RESOLUTION

At the start of every new year, people usually set goals for themselves and these goals are commonly referred to as New Year Resolutions.
In today's news analysis, correspondent examine the concept of new year resolution and the sincerity among Nigerians in keeping to their new year resolutions.
New year resolution as a practice can be traced to the ancient time.
Some Historians had it that new year resolution is a tradition that is most common in the Western Hemisphere and also in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired triat or behaviour.
The Babylonians in the olden days also made promises to their gods at the start of each year, that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.
The Romans on their parts began each year by making promises to their god known as JANUS,for whom the month of January was name.
While in the Medieval era, the Knights took the peacock vow at the end of the Christmas season each year to reaffirm their commitment to chivalry.
Indeed, in every new year celebration, people often think retrospectively, reflecting on their actions and inaction as well as seek for human and divine forgiveness of sins or wrong doings in the out gone year.
In today's Nigeria society, many Christians at cross over services plan for the year ahead through prayers, while others write down or say it orally what they intend to do in the new year.
The concept of new year resolution no doubt help people to critique themselves for improvement.
Nigerians irrespective of their religions, tribes or political affiliations also make different new year resolutions, which include getting rid of bad habits or practices such as smoking, alcoholism and drunkeness, fornication, crime, corruption and other vices.
Others resolved to get married, own a house, lose weight through exercises and dieting, be more financially prudent as well as engage in more productive ventures among others.
However it has been observed that some Nigerians set aside or jettison their new year resolutions after the euphoria of the yuletide within the first quarter of the new year.
The inability to keep to the new year resolutions can be blamed on making beautiful but unrealizable resolutions  while others fail because of prevailing societal realities such as economic recessions or inflation.
To avoid failed new year resolutions, it is important that people should critically examine prevailing situations before setting goals, so as not to disappoint themselves at the long run.
It is also imperative for one to write down one's resolution on a clean sheet of paper and paste on the wall where it can easily be read as a reminder.
It is very imperative for one to have a positive mentality or attitudes towards actualizing one's set goals or resolutions.
Procrastination is a negative attitude and it can kill people's set goals.
A resolution not carried out immediately may eventually fade away due to delay.
For instance, delay in the implementation of development policies by public office holders has been blamed for the socio-economic challenges facing the Nigerian masses today.
Moreso, a project contract not executed timely may cost more in future due to inflation indices and this may lead to such a project being abandoned or revoked at the expense of the beneficiaries.
As the saying goes "early to bed, early to rise" and "a stitch in time saves nine".