So here we are, three days before New Year’s Eve. Another year over, and a new one just about to begin.

How has 2017 been for you?

For us at Danckert Real Estate, it’s been pretty momentous. From the seeds of ideas that developed early in the year, to launching on September first, there have been moments of excitement, anxiety, anticipation, doubt, pride, satisfaction and sheer happiness. 119 days, 18 listings and 6 sales. We are pretty chuffed, and ever so grateful.

When we look ahead to 2018, the future looks bright!

Now’s the time for New Year’s resolutions to be put in place, so when we wake up on January 1st, we have a clear mind of what we want to achieve, create or dispense of for the coming year.

So what is a New Year's resolution, and where did it all start?

It’s a tradition when a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behaviour, accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve their life.

It seems to have originated with the Babylonians, who made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. The earliest recorded festivities in honor of a new year’s arrival date back some 4,000 years. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox—the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness—heralded the start of a new year.

Did you know?

The early Roman calendar consisted of 10 months and 304 days, with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox. Over the centuries, the calendar fell out of sync with the sun, and in 46 B.C. emperor Julius Caesar decided to solve the problem by consulting with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of his time. He introduced the Julian calendar, which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar that most countries around the world use today. Pope Gregory XIII re-established January 1 as New Year’s Day in 1582.

The new year resolution tradition is evident in a number of religions. During Judaism's New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one's wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness. For early Christians, the first day of the new year became the traditional occasion for thinking about one’s past mistakes and resolving to do and be better in the future.

However despite the tradition’s religious roots, New Year’s resolutions today are a mostly secular practice. Instead of making promises to the gods, most people make resolutions with themselves, and focus purely on self-improvement.

So do New Year’s resolutions work? Well, not really it seems. We start of the year with the best of intentions, and then? The most common reason for ‘failure’ is that we set unrealistic goals, or we don’t keep track of our progress or we just plain forget that we even made a pact with ourselves in the first place!

What do you think this year’s top New Year’s resolution will be?

We reckon fitness will be high on the agenda. Cleanses, detoxes, gym memberships, yoga classes, marathon preparation, Tough Mudder training – just generally getting in shape.

Now’s your chance to sit down and prepare a list of important lifestyle changes you want to make, so we thought we’d make it easier by giving you a bit of a list to choose from. After all, we need all the help we can get!

• Improve physical well-being (eat healthy food, lose weight, exercise more, eat better)
• Improve mental well-being (think positive, laugh more often, enjoy life)
• Improve finances (get out of debt, save money, make small investments)
• Improve career (perform better at current job, get a better job, establish own business)
• Improve education (improve grades, get a better education, learn something new,read more books)
• Improve self (become more organiszed, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent, watch less television)
• Drink less alcohol
• Quit smoking
• Stop biting nails
• Get rid of old bad habits
• Donate to a charity more often
• Become more assertive
• Become more environmentally responsible
• Spend quality time with family members
• Spend less time on social media (such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)

Well, there you have it – an extensive list of advice, tips and tricks to help you see your New Year’s resolutions through and make some long-term changes in your life.

Happy New Year all!

www.danckert.com.au