It's time to make a resolution

By Janine Pulford

Have you heard of New Year’s Resolution Week?

It runs from 1-7 January every year, which is logical, but the fact that it appears to have been observed annually for seven days starting on 1 January since 2005 (that’s 18 years ago) might come as a surprise.

New Year’s resolutions go back 4,000 years and began with the ancient Babylonians who made promises to their gods to pay their debts and return borrowed objects. These were considered to be the first resolutions. If they kept their word, they believed their gods would reward them in the coming year. If not – well – the consequences were probably not worth thinking about.

The Romans too made resolutions. They worshipped a two-faced god named Janus and made promises of good conduct for the coming year. They also named the month of January after this god.

When it came to early Christians, New Year’s Day became a time to reflect on past mistakes and make promises to do better. Nowadays, we keep to the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions but in a secular manner.

Naturally it is easier to break these modern resolutions compared to breaking those made to the gods who could, if displeased, ruin your harvest.

It is said about 35% of people keep their resolutions, 49% keep some, and 16% fail. Sometimes those who don’t achieve their goal feel disappointed in themselves, especially if they’ve broadcast their resolution on social media and then can’t stick to it.

The moral of the story is don’t make promises that you can’t fulfil. It’s better to aim for a resolution you can achieve than something too ambitious. Our advertisers can help you out, so explore your options and see what is achievable before you make your resolution.

The most common New Year’s resolutions are based on self-improvement and living healthier.

Here are some tips to help you keep your New Year’s resolution

Don’t set your goal too high.

Take control of your inner thoughts and break the cycle of letting critics beat you down.

Do the best you can each day and if something goes wrong, remember the lyrics ‘pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again’.

Don’t give up.

Take one day at a time.

Stick to your plan and don’t obsess over the occasional slip. It can take several weeks before a new activity becomes a habit and many months before it becomes part of your lifestyle.

Talk about it so people can support you or find a buddy to share the same resolution. You can motivate each other.

There is a Japanese proverb that says, ‘fall seven times, stand up eight.’ Failure doesn’t define you, it’s the fact that you stood up again that makes you who you are.

Reward yourself with a treat that doesn't contradict your resolution, for example if you’re on a fitness programme reward yourself by going out for a walk by the sea with a friend, or buy a new piece of clothing to wear at your fitness class.

Practise positive thinking.

Track your progress so you can keep a record of your accomplishments

Work out a plan. Don’t make a rash resolution as that could be harder to stick too.

There is a popular slogan in January ‘New Year, New You’ and this is such a great excuse to indulge yourself with a new hair style or clothes and reinvent yourself for 2023. But with money being tighter than usual this year due the spiralling cost of living you could make a resolution to quit a bad habit like cigarettes, alcohol or compulsive buying of lottery tickets and put the money you save aside for your new you. Quitting bad habits is ambitious though and will be a mountain to climb, so seek help and support with those resolutions, think positive and aim to succeed.

During this time of change and lifestyle improvement you may want to take the ‘New Year, New You’ slogan to its max. As well as assessing your personal lifestyle, you could reappraise your job.

The Covid pandemic caused a great deal of upheaval in employment with many people losing their jobs and a large proportion being forced into new careers. Maybe you were one of them. You could have been fortunate to adapt to a different job, but if not, you are sure to be looking about for something that will match your specific skillset.

With around a million job vacancies to choose from in the UK, there is probably something available in every sector you can think of. However, if you’re not in a position to make a move to a different part of the country, you will be restricted by the regional market.

Local companies advertising in this feature would love to hear from you, including Pulford Publicity, the publishers of this magazine, who are searching for new recruits (see page 27).

According to the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Dorset Labour Market & Skills Insight, Quarter 3 2022 (dorsetlep. co.uk) there has been a sustained slow down of labour demand seen for the first time in almost two years in the county. This was seen in the three consecutive months to September.

Even so, the overall vacancies in the last quarter reached around 25,000 so there should be no shortage of jobs to apply for.

The employers topping the charts in terms of the number of vacancies advertised were from a variety of sectors including healthcare (NHS and care firms), local government (BCP and Dorset Councils), finance (JP Morgan), tourism and hospitality (Bourne Leisure, Haven, Whitbread, Hall & Woodhouse and National Trust), education (BU and BPC), manufacturing (Holt Engineering, Ultra, RNLI) and retail (TESCO, ASDA etc).

With around 7,850 vacancies advertised in the first nine months of 2022 in hospitality, food and tourism, far in excess of the same period in preceding years there are reports that UK hospitality businesses are increasingly turning to older workers to plug staffing shortages. Approximately 19% of hospitality businesses said the proportion of over-50s in their organisations had increased in the past year – reflecting shifting demographics.

The jobs in highest demand within the top three occupation groups in Dorset were:

• Professional: nurses, programmers, and teachers.

• Associate professionals: HR, engineering, and IT support.

• Elementary: kitchen and catering staff, cleaners, storage workers.

With this information at your fingertips should you should be able to find a vacancy that appeals. If so, be ready to prepare a CV.

A CV needs to inform a prospective employer of your qualifications and experience. There is plenty of help available online to assist you writing a CV, but here are a few important points:

• Research the job you are applying for, visit the company’s website, read the job description and tailor your CV to fit

• Use a clear font in black such as Times New Roman

• Put your name and address at the top with your phone number and email address.

• If you have a networking profile include the link

• Don’t include your age, date of birth, marital status or nationality.

• Use clear and concise headings for each section and bullet point if appropriate

• Say why you feel you are the right person for the position and match your words to keywords in the job description. Use active words to highlight your strengths such as: managed, created, built, organised.

• Include your work history and put previous jobs in chronological order with your most recent or current employment at the top and work backwards to your earliest employment.

• Education history: include your qualifications, schools and universities where you studied and dates you attended.

• Don’t write more than two sides of A4 unless it’s an academic CV.

• Add your hobbies, interests and achievements especially if they show you have relevant skills for the job.

• Double-check your spelling and grammar.

• Save a copy and remember to attach the CV to your email application.

When you send your CV don’t be too downhearted if you don’t get an interview. Keep applying elsewhere. Perseverance is key and the New Year is your chance to make a resolution to persevere.

Join the LiveWell Small Change Challenge

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New Year’s Resolutions!

How many times have you plunged into a massive lifestyle change––gone cold turkey (no pun intended) to try and quit smoking, stopped drinking for Dry January or started a diet but ended up dropping out, disappointed with yourself when you’ve failed to meet the tough goals you set?

Trying to be healthier is important––but so is succeeding.

Lifestyle change doesn’t have to be huge and overwhelming. Sometimes the smallest changes add up to the biggest impact. So take it easy this January, ease your way into a healthier you with some simple and achievable bite-sized wellbeing boosts––welcome to Small Change.

Instead of getting too caught up on an end goal, or a drastic change, try some smaller actions to help get you to where you want to be. And if you don’t have a big goal, you can still make some small, positive changes to improve your health and wellbeing.

Scan the QR code in the advert to get your Small Change calendar, stick it on the fridge and join LiveWell Dorset for 31 days of mini actions to boost your health and wellbeing. Why not encourage family and friends to take part too.

LiveWell Dorset offers free support, advice and 1-2-1 coaching for adults living in Dorset who are looking to make a lifestyle change like maintaining a healthy weight, moving more, quitting smoking or reducing drinking.

Call 0800 840 1628 or visit livewelldorset.co.uk.

Don’t be daunted: get fit with Ferndown Fitness

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If you find the thought of going to a gym rather daunting but want to improve your fitness and lose weight in 2023 then Ferndown Fitness in Pennys Walk is the place for you. Friendly, helpful staff will guide you every step of the way. No posers or show-offs, just people who want to lose weight and improve their fitness in a relaxed environment. Ferndown Fitness have an amazing deal this January; you can get up to £50 off an annual membership plus two free consultations with their dietary advisor.

So why not pop in or call 01202 855321 to book your free guest visit.

Free trial sessions at Razzamataz this January

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Does your child love to dance? Sing? Have a passion for the arts? Want to make some friends? Or just want to grow in confidence?

Razzamataz Theatre Schools is now open in Bournemouth and is holding FREE trial sessions all throughout January for young people aged 4-18.

When founder and director of Razzamataz, Denise HuttonGosney, appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2006, Duncan Bannatyne was quick to spot the huge potential of the parttime theatre school and offered the full investment. There are now over 40 schools up and down the country and Amber Jones, principal of Razzamataz in Bournemouth, is delighted to be delivering Razzamataz’s unique blend of performing arts to local children.

“I am super excited to finally be open and running classes in Bournemouth,” said Amber, “and can’t wait to continue delivering first class training to young people in a fun, safe and stimulating environment where they can learn about the whole spectrum of performing arts.”

Classes are held at St Michael’s C of E Primary School, Somerville Road, Bournemouth on Saturdays during term time.

To book a FREE taster session at Razzamataz Bournemouth, or to find out more, please contact Principal Amber on 07821 856704 or email bournemouth@razzamataz.co.uk.