By Colin Barrett, Group Director at Ancojada Group
We may only be in the second week of January but according to analysis provided by Strava, the specialist health & fitness social network, this Friday is the day when most of us will give up on our new years resolutions.
Maybe this isn’t so surprising? I mean, it might be relatively easy to come up with ideas at the height of the festive season that we are sure will have a positive impact on our lives in the coming year, but much harder to keep up with those commitments as the pace of “everyday life” increases in the new year.
So I got to wondering why some resolutions I have made were easier to keep than others.
A few years ago I made a resolution not to drink beer for an entire calendar year (No Beer Year!) and I managed it with some ease ( other beverages were available of course ;-) )
Reflecting on this, I couldn’t help wondering if resolving to remove something from my life was a lot easier than committing to adding something new, building a regular routine into my already busy schedule.
So as we approach “Quitters Day” (Strava’s term, not mine), I started to think about my own new year resolution for this year. So here is a question for you… Do new year resolutions have to be set in stone?If they do, then I would have to hold my hand up and say that I broke mine on January 1st, as I got up very late and didn’t do the daily “planking” exercise I had promised myself I would do throughout 2022. But, rather than quit the idea completely I decided to vary my resolution and now I have a new (and so far unbroken) resolve to do some form of physical fitness exercise each day, including (at least) a 6 minute plank on days when time is at a premium.
Is that an “OK” way to keep my resolution alive? I would personally like to think so as I am still committed to making a positive change in my life.
But of course, not all new year resolutions have to mean building a new daily routine into your busy life. Some may only need you to commit if to a one off event, a single effort to do something that could permanently make a change for the better. Surely this kind of resolution couldn’t fail to succeed?
It put me in mind of a friend of mine who I bumped into in the street in late December one year, who confidently declared to me that he would be in touch with me early in January to arrange his will. Although I saw him socially many times throughout the the following 12 months, you guessed it, he never got around to making his will in that year.
When we finally did around to it he told me that he was surprised how easy it was. He knew that he “ought to make a will” and that “he wanted to do this to protect his family” but that he had been putting things off because he thought it would take a long time and would be a difficult process.
I imagine that if you ask anyone the question, “do you think having a will is important?”, then it is probably fair to expect that the vast majority of responses would be a resounding “Yes!”.
Given that almost all of us recognise the importance of wills, it is shocking then that a recent survey by Canada Life revealed that over half of adults in the UK do not have a valid will in place.
Food for thought?
So, if you have faltered at all in your new resolutions this year, don’t let that mean that you disregard them altogether, maybe you could simply adapt and amend them so they can still work for you as the year progresses.
Is it too late to be making any more New year resolutions? Absolutely not! This year is still very “new” for all of us and anyway, it is never too late to make a positive change in your life.
And finally, if you resolve to get started on making (or reviewing) your own will, then just call me on 01733 259079, drop me a line here or email me at colin@ancojada.com and let’s get some “Will Power” into your life.
Ancojada Limited is not authorised or regulated to provide financial advice.
All financial advice is provided by other regulated businesses.