New Year’s Resolutions
Selfie taken and submitted by Halim Sheena with his newborn son Elias, December 2024.
Forming successful habits in the New Year
By Jenna Abroo
We all know that a new year can bring about opportunities for change. We all have habits that we would like to adapt and implement to better suit our individual lifestyles. Many people take the new year to create “New Year’s Resolutions,” goals and objectives they would like to add to their daily lives.
These resolutions could be health, family, career, or personally oriented. Some make a resolution to eat healthier, lose weight, take better care of their mental health, spend more time with their families, make more mindful financial decisions, or work for a promotion in their careers. The end of the old year and the beginning of a new one can be a fresh start and inspire hope for personal growth.
The tradition of forming New Year’s Resolutions can be traced back to some of our ancestors; artifacts suggest the ancient Babylonians were the first to have made New Year’s Resolutions dating back 4,000 years ago. And although their new year started during the crop season in mid-March instead of January, the tradition holds just as true.
The ancient Romans under the rule of Emperor Julius Caesar created a similar tradition when they altered the calendar and established January 1 as the start of the new year. The month was named after the deity Janus, a two-faced god who held spiritual and symbolic significance to the Romans about looking ahead to their futures.
The concept of creating a fresh start for the upcoming year has been practiced for thousands of years by many different cultures, and the modern-day tradition is not much different.
Forming a Resolution
When forming your New Year’s Resolutions, there are some important things to keep in mind. While brainstorming your goals, it is imperative to be realistic with yourself. Putting unachievable expectations in place from the get-go can be setting yourself up for failure.
One way to do this is to pick one resolution to focus on and give it your all. Sometimes, resolutions have a way of bringing focus to themselves. Committing time to your family is one example.
Halim Sheena, 31, spoke with me about how this is the case for him going into the new year. His wife recently gave birth to their first child, a son named Elias. Sheena mentioned that going into 2025, his resolution is to work on time management. Now that he and his wife are first time parents, they are experiencing a whirlwind!
Sheena said that he is, “slowly figuring out how to both take care of my son and get other things done as well. I am also learning to temper my expectations and be more realistic in my daily goals, so I don’t set myself up for failure.” He concluded that even though it’ll take some trial and error, he knows he’ll be able to manage and get there. Adjusting to a new family can be difficult, but is also one of the most rewarding things, especially with manageable ways to accommodate your goals.
New Year’s resolutions can be a great way to focus on hobbies in your personal life that are fulfilling for a variety of reasons. Nina Nakkash, 26, recently graduated with her master’s degree and is working as a human resources assistant. Now that her education is completed, she is looking to branch out to learning more languages.
She plans to start with the language learning online programs called Duolingo and Babel, and potentially apply for a “two-week intensive language study program” in Paris for French, or Barcelona for Spanish.
Learning a new language can open many possibilities career-wise but is also a fun way to carve out time for a personal hobby that can be rewarding, relaxing and a great way to recharge yourself in your spare time. With the chaos of school, work, family, and all the responsibilities that life throws at us, a personal New Year’s Resolution hobby is the perfect stress reliever.
Learning new skills and brushing up on old ones can lead to new hobbies forming in the new year as well. Nicholas Abroo, 23, who also recently graduated with his master’s degree in business analytics, is learning how to navigate his free time now that he is finished with his schooling. In his free time from job searching and starting his career, he is looking forward to developing his passion for sewing.
Abroo learned the basic skills in a college course for an art credit and found that he had a natural talent for it. “I’d like to continue to practice and learn more to build on my previous skills,” said Abroo. “I plan to make the time to learn more advanced skills and find the inspiration to take on new projects.”
Setting aside time to develop any skill as a hobby is a resolution that is not only consistent but can lead to long term enjoyment for many years to come.
For some, New Year’s Resolutions can be about giving back to your community to be a part of something bigger than yourself. This is one of the main pillars of our Christian faith, and for many is a good way to become closer to God.
Local university student Maryam Qoda, 22, is finding a way to incorporate this mission into a new season of life. In the spring, she will graduate from college and apply to medical school. “The hard work and sacrifice will finally pay off to achieve the dream I’ve worked so hard for,” she declared.
In those efforts, she plans to continue her roles outside of school as an advocate for social justice and peace. She is, “choosing to not just say I follow Christ, but to show it through my actions by helping others and fighting for change.”
Many of the teachings of Jesus are to be supportive and advocate for the less fortunate and disenfranchised, and committing to working as a peacemaker in social justice causes can be a resolution that is rooted in service to your community and to your faith.
The possibilities are endless when creating your New Year’s Resolutions, whatever they may be. Whether it’s personal, work related, finance, or family related, know that it is never too late to make a change in your life for something great. We should all take the opportunity to try to better our lives, whatever that ends up looking like. Happy New Year!