It has been almost 2 months since I did my icebreaker speech, how fast time flies.

Now we are in 2022. January is the first month of the year, and the month of setting resolutions.

Did you make New Year’s resolutions?

On New Year’s Day, I found that my friends on social media are a more active presence than before. I saw that the most common resolutions for the new year they made are healthier and happier. Some other goals include finishing the reading list, doing more exercise, and passing a complicated exam.

When I read more and more New Year’s resolutions, I realized that the aim is to seek pleasure behind the various goals. I will give you the explanation about how I made this conclusion.

In our brain reward system, four neurotransmitters can bring joy into your life. They are dopamine, endorphin, oxytocin, and serotonin. People like to call them ‘happy hormones because they can promote positive feelings during our day.

I believe that most people are familiar with dopamine. It is released when your desire is fulfilled. Therefore, it is also called the neurotransmitter of wanting. For example: drinking a cup of milk tea, staying up all night playing computer games. Desire is favorable in small doses; otherwise, it would bring misery instead of happiness. One of my friend’s new year’s resolutions is to stop drinking milk tea. I guess it is because she is getting addicted to it. Quitting drinking overdose milk tea can help her find the balance again and get the happiness back.

The second neurotransmitter I will talk about is endorphin, which is released after experiencing pain or stress. Therefore, it is also called a natural painkiller. For instance, if you are climbing a mountain. On the halfway, you are tired and hungry. You are wondering why you are here. It looks like you are nearly giving up. At this moment, you hear whispers of your heart. It tells you don’t give up. Finally, you climb to the top of the mountain and enjoy the beautiful view. You feel you are the luckiest person in the world and have a sense of achievement. It is an endorphin that makes you taste sweet after bitter. Let’s take a look at New Year’s resolutions; someone sets goals such as losing weight, accepting a new challenge, or practicing public speaking. They are not comfortable during the process. However, if you achieve your goal in the end, you will feel happy.

The next one we will talk about is oxytocin. It triggers the feeling of love. Many things can produce oxytocin, such as spending more time with family and friends, playing with pets, complimenting others sincerely. Knowing this, we will not be surprised when we see someone’s resolution is having a cat or being kind to others.

Lastly, I am going to talk about serotonin. It is released when people feel they have the power to control something. For example,  early to bed, early to rise, healthy eating. Recently I read a book named self-help guide for Overcoming Chronic Fatigue. It introduced cognitive behavioral therapy to treat chronic fatigue syndrome. one strategy is writing a diary to record daily routine and thoughts and gradually based on the journal to adjust behavior and regain health. It allows people from a third-person point of view to observe their life and get back control of their mental health. I think, in this case, serotonin plays an important role.

Another thing I found interesting is that no one use ‘winning a lottery’ as their new year’s resolution. I think this is because these kinds of things are unpredictable, and we cannot control the results; therefore, it wouldn’t make us happier compared to other new year’s resolutions.

In conclusion, behind different new year’s resolutions that we see online or hear from friends, the purpose is to pursue happiness during the year. I hope everyone has a joyful year, and don’t forget to use the four neurotransmitters to boost your positive emotions.