23 Sticking to New Year's Resolution

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Sticking to New Year's Resolution

New Year's Day typically marks the day that many decide to up and change their life. People purchase expensive gym memberships or stock up on healthy food but by the end of the month, it's as if everyone already forgot about the commitments they made to themselves. It may be difficult to stick to resolutions, but this article is going to give individuals advice on how to best stick to their New Year's resolutions.

To start off, it's a good rule of thumb to outline the resolutions ahead of time (aka not on New Year’s Eve). Give time to digest what’s truly important to accomplish. Erisa Maliq, a senior at the University of St. Francis, shares, “New Year's resolutions are hard to stick to because even though the year changes, it does not mean how much time you have does.”

If you are waiting for the new year to start something you are just putting off starting it right now. They are hard to stick by for most people hence why the gym is always full in January and February then empty by March. Marcel Shwantes, a contributing editor of Inc. Magazine shares, “Of the 41% of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions, only 9% were successful in keeping them.” If you have your resolutions figured out ahead of time, this allows for the opportunity to really commit to them.

The next important thing to note is the quantity of resolutions to take on. It's easy to write out 10 or 20 goals on paper but are they easy to implement all at once? Don’t overwhelm the beginning of the new year with tons of goals. If you take on too many resolutions, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to stick to and more than likely none of them will get accomplished. Focus on 2 to 3 main goals to start off, then increase slowly from there. This allows for proper attention to the most important things on the list.

Being realistic is also key. Strive for a goal that is attainable. For example, if the goal is to cut sugar, it's probably not the best idea to go completely cold-cut and instead a better idea would be to wean off the amounts consumed little by little.

Harvard Health Publishing shares, “Break big dreams into small-enough steps. Now think tiny. Small steps move you forward to your ultimate goal… Just getting to first base can build your confidence to tackle -and succeed at- more

Sticking to New Year's Resolution By: Hannah Mitchell Commentary Editor

difficult tasks.” Individuals should try to trick their brains into feeling accomplished at something because this will propel and motivate them to go further with it. Rose Mwaro, a junior at the University of St. Francis, shares, “Personally, I do not think it's hard. To ensure my commitment, I break the goal down into smaller goals so it's easier to see the progress.” Students in the local community already display these great qualities in bettering themselves.

Ever wonder, just how long it takes to form a habit? According to James Clear, author of Atomic Habits it takes, on average, more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. However, it's important to remember that the length of time varies depending on the person, their behaviors and the overarching circumstances.

Phillippa Lally, a health psychology researcher at University College London conducted a study that was published in the European Journal of Social Psychology that examined the habits of 96 individuals over 12 weeks and the results showed that it took anywhere from 18 to 254 days for people to form a new habit. Researchers also found that even with occasional slip ups where the habit was not performed at times, this still did not materially affect the habit formation process. So, if you mess up here and there it should not largely affect the results at the end.

It's a good idea to create resolutions for yourself even if they are small. They give you a chance to grow over time and discover different capabilities. If lost on what resolutions are good, consider the following! Health is always important. Maybe look at incorporating some type of movement into your day or getting more wholesome foods into your diet. Another aspect of health to consider is mental health. Journaling is helpful to many when trying to organize their mental space. This is only a fragment of the possibilities that one could consider when creating New Year’s resolutions.

At the end of the day, do not be too hard on yourself this New Year but do step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to something new!