OPINION

New Years Resolutions. Should you make them?

Motivational.

New year’s resolutions are the most meaningful goals to have. As you’re starting the new year and putting things in the past, you should also set yourself up for the future. While you set these goals, you’ll be able to figure out what has been holding you back from achieving the things you want, and what you can alter in the new year to make things better in the end.

Resolutions go hand and hand with reflections. Step number one of making a resolution to live out in the new year is to reflect on the past year. You’ll become aware of the things that are actually important to you, whether those things are people, jobs, activities, or hobbies, they are all things that help you become who you want to be.

A lot of people will argue that many will make a list of all the things that they want to accomplish or get rid of in the new year, and never achieve or change anything. That is because some people make their goals very unrealistic and they don’t organize the amount of work it takes to get to the fulfillment of them. That’s step number two, you need to be sure that your goals are attainable. You must see yourself performing the tasks needed to carry out your ambitions, then continue to push yourself and you’ll get there.

The major characteristics of effective goals or resolutions include choosing your own goals based on your interests and desires, which gives you ownership and responsibility for the things you want, making sure your goal is measurable and specific, the goals need to be challenging enough to push you to actually try, making the tasks needed to achieve your goals possible, and lastly, just keeping a positive attitude and never giving up.

According to Ray Williams, “A New Year’s resolution is a tradition in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behavior, to accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve their life.” There’s no better time to do that than after the sparkly ball drops in NYC!

Unnecessary.

Why wait until the new year to start the new you when you can just start now? The idea of starting the new year with a “new you” sounds amazing, but it’s not practical as it’s much easier to lose hope later in the year.

Studies show that 43% of all people are expected to fail before February, and almost one out of four quit within the first week of setting their New Year’s resolution. After two weeks, the number drops to 71%. After one month, the number drops again to 64%. And after six months, 46% of people who make a resolution are still thriving in keeping it.

Many peers who make new year’s resolution don’t even go through it because after a few weeks, the feeling of starting anew and wanting to start fresh fades away.

“It’s true that when starting a new year, most people are going to want to change something about themselves, but the problem is that why wait until the new year and not make the change you want to make right now?” senior Quinn Gilkson said. “Not only are you wasting your time to make it feel more ‘meaningful’, but there’s a 99% change you are going to give up in a matter of days.”

When making a resolution, constructing a detailed plan is a must If no specific instructions are in place, there’s a better chance of it all crumbling down due to setting unrealistic exceptions, not going step-by-step, having too many goals at a time, inability to identify obstacles, and the one of the worst emotions there is: stress.

“People tend to create super crazy goals that are just not for them or not achievable,” senior Nathan Richards said. “I’m not saying don’t do them or that they’re not achievable, but you have to know who you are to know what is and how is the best way to grab that goal and achieve it.”

If you want to make a change because you feel that change will make you a better or different person, then do it. Don’t wait until the start of a whole new year to do so.

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Reader Response

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