Making and implementing resolutions for 2024

Do I move from Hamburg to Vienna because of my career or are my friends more important to me? Do I save 200 euros a month for my old age or do I fly to Hawaii? Do I want to have children with my partner or is my independence more important to me? We are often faced with questions like these in our lives where we have to make a decision. Because it is an illusion to assume that everything is possible at the same time.

Saying yes always means saying no

Many people find it difficult to make decisions. Because when we decide on something, we have to reject other options. We can only do this if we know what is important to us. Otherwise we make a lot of resolutions, but a few days later they are forgotten. This is because our resolutions are not anchored in any vision of life.

What's more, what's really important in our lives is never urgent. For example, it is never urgent to go jogging. But it would be good for our health. And it is never urgent to take time for a conversation with our partner. But it would be important for the relationship.

Because the really important things are never urgent, we often put them off. Or we harbor the illusion that if I do everything faster, I will have time for it. The only consequence: we lead a life at high speed. And at some point we realize with resignation: I may be leading an (even) fuller life, but I'm not leading a fulfilled life.

Challenge: Maintaining balance in life

This kind of imbalance is not an individual fate. More and more people are plagued by the feeling: My life is not in balance. One reason for this is that most people have a clear perspective when it comes to their career. The situation is different in the areas of "meaning/culture", "body/health" and "family/relationships". Here they often lack clear goals.

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we often overlook the fact that the four areas of life are interrelated. This is why, for example, anyone who overemphasizes the "work/profession" area in the long term will not only lose their zest for life, but also their performance. Because:

• People who are ill can neither enjoy life to the full nor are they able to perform at their best.
• Those who are lonely are neither "squeaky-clean," nor can they devote their full energy to their jobs.
• Anyone who is in a crisis of purpose is neither full of life nor very capable. Because behind everything you do is the question: What's the point?

In order to lead a fulfilled life, we must therefore ensure the right balance between the four areas of life. To do this, we need a vision of our future life. We also need this because there are many demands placed on us today that can only be reconciled to a limited extent. Almost all working mothers and fathers will confirm this.

For example, irregular working hours are normal in most higher-skilled jobs. At least for single mothers and fathers, this means They can't always leave the office or their home office desk at 4 pm sharp every day, for example. So what are they supposed to do when the nursery closes? Another example: many managers find it increasingly difficult to keep regular private appointments due to the many threads that converge on their desks. After all, there is always something important to do at work. So conflicts (of interest) are inevitable.

Challenge: managing your own life

This results in a further challenge: we have to become managers of our own lives, so to speak - people who, through their actions today, ensure that they continue to lead a happy and fulfilled life in the future. The first step here is to develop a vision of our future life. So sit down between the years or on New Year's morning, for example, and ask yourself in relation to the four areas of life:

• What is really important to me?
• In what does a fulfilled life show itself for me? And:
• What should I do today to live a happy life in the future?

Also ask yourself (regularly): Are there any signs in my living environment that the balance in my life could be threatened in the future? This is extremely important, especially in the current times of upheaval, as so much is changing in our living environment.

Such warning signals can be

• Silence increasingly reigns between you and your life partner. Even important friends no longer contact you.
• In your company, the top maxim is suddenly "save money".
• You ask yourself more and more often: What's the point of all this?
• You occasionally feel a twinge in the region of your heart.

Laying the foundations today for a fulfilling life tomorrow

Once you have answered these questions for yourself, you can make concrete resolutions and draw up a plan of action to realize them. And you can do this without running the risk of forgetting your resolutions as soon as the New Year's Eve rockets have burned up. Because your resolutions are now anchored in a vision of your future life.

About the author: Business psychologist Sabine Prohaska is the owner of the training and consulting company seminar consult prohaska, Vienna (www.seminarconsult.at). Among other things, she is the author of the book "Solution-oriented self-coaching: Getting closer to your goals - step by step".