New Year's resolutions - take your pick!

Interview studies in Denmark have suggested that personal New Year's resolutions are not nearly as common as they used to be. The reason for this might be that they are not very effective. We often too quickly relapse into our old habits. Some people even believe that New Year's resolutions are only for twerps as they say: Why wait until New Year to replace a bad habit for a good one when you might as well start right away?
Yes - why wait and why rely on New Year's resolutions? Do we have some kind of hereditary or aquired - yet partly unconscious - idea that the time after New Year is particularly well-suited for introducing a small personal quantum leap in regard to personal development and catharsis which, after a certain number of New Years will help us become an approximate image of the ideal person?
In that case - why are we not more persevering in our good intents? Another question could be: From where do the self-destructive tendencies originate? Why do we smoke, drink too much alcohol, eat too much, get stressed or laze, etc.?
Profound questions with complex answers that can hold both biological, social, and psychological mechanisms as well as genetic causes, nutritional deficiencies, too large expectations, early lack of solicitude, unconscious actions of protest, and other things that might weaken a person's will power and require an abuse of stimulants.
Luckily, despite the poor success rate of it all, it is possible for us to change bad habits without having to necessarily fully understand their cause-and-effect relationship. This is not to say that it is equally easy for everyone; some people have to fight harder than others to achieve what they want.
New Year's resolutions have a better chance at being materialized if you do not keep them a secret. Initiate someone else, or preferably several people who are important to you, into your plans. This will increase your motivation as well as it will make your associates able to support your decision.
Cigarettes and alcohol
Be realistic when setting out to attain your object. It is not very promotive for your self esteem to have to give up because your level of ambition was too high. However, do you wish to quit smoking, you should quit altogether instead of just reducing your daily consumption of cigarettes. If you do not, your consumption will quite quickly return to its old level. In some cases, the same applies to alcohol; if you are an alcoholic, you should completely abstain from alcohol and not just try to administer a cut-down. Other people who do not have the specific biochemistry of the alcoholic will have far better chances of being able to manage a reduced alcohol consumption without problems.
Diets
The right diet can easily help overweight people lose weight. The biggest problem lies in being able to maintain a normal weight. Diets are not very good at this and this is the reason why so many advisors recommend permanent dietary and lifestyle changes instead of diets. Diets often fail when they are not combined with daily exercise.
As the subject of New Year's resolutions is such a comprehensive one, there are so many things for you to focus on - even if your tobacco-, alcohol-, or overweight habits do not require any corrective efforts. These could be to...
Drink more water
Good-quality water tastes good, quenches your thirst better than soft drinks and sodas, for example, is healthy, and is not fattening. It is also much cheaper.
Sell your TV
No, just keep it, but use less time in front of it. Be more critical when deciding what to watch. There is so much quality time to be gained by engaging in pleasant and meaningful activities instead of wasting your time being hypnotized by unimportant TV programmes.
Have more sex
That is safe sex, of course. Sex is healthy; it counteracts stress and depressive tendencies and, also, your desire for sex will be reduced if you do not keep it up. Acute headaches and having to play an important football match the next day should not necessarily cause anyone to abstain from sex. The headache might even disappear, and your achievements in the football field will not be any less good after sex, contrary to earlier belief.
Happy New Year!