HOW TO: Stick to Your Resolutions
The idea of making resolutions as the new year rolls around has been around for centuries, but how do we ensure our goals are achievable?
Over the years, I’ve learned from experience that resolutions can be bad luck, at least in the way they can backfire. While it is fun to make new year’s resolutions, I try my best not to get caught up in it. I do keep goals in my mind, however, as the new year rolls in. While the goals themselves don’t change with the calendar, a new year starting does give me an extra sense of motivation to achieve them.
According to research, 44% of U.S. adults make New Year’s resolutions each year, but 11% quit within the first month, and only 14% make it to three months. A very small number of people succeed in keeping their resolutions. Most are not ready to commit to their resolutions, so they give up because they lose motivation, fail to prioritize their goals, or swap their resolutions for newer, more urgent personal goals.
Why do we make resolutions?
“New Year’s gives us a sense of renewal, which causes us to think about areas in our life we want to improve [or] change and the start and stop of a clock always feels like the natural time,” says psychologist Mariana Strongin, PsyD.
Humans crave a new beginning, as well as a sense of control over their lives. Most people will not start a new hobby unless they are forced to or the opportunity is presented to them. It’s the same way we put off work until the last minute, don’t start thinking about exercise until the beginning/middle of summer, or brush our teeth five times the day we go to the dentist. In everyday life, the people who take the best care of themselves are the ones who have developed self-discipline, and those who have strong motivation.
Here are a few tips for sticking with your resolutions this year:
Be Realistic
While it is more likely to set ambitious goals, such as turning all of your C grades into straight A’s in the next two weeks, unrealistic goals can lead to burnout or the likelihood of failure. Consider this: if you want to be a popstar, do you believe you can go from singing in your bedroom today to performing at a concert tomorrow with no small steps in between? That doesn’t make any sense, does it?
There must be small steps along the way in order to achieve your overall goals. So, in order to move from Cs to As, plan on studying more, doing extra work, or even simply completing homework on the day it is assigned — baby steps to the bigger goal.
Plan Ahead
It’s true that big plans take time to develop, and when you’re planning at the last minute (like on New Year’s Eve) with little time to think, it can be stressful. Take a few weeks before the New Year, or even a few weeks in general (whether New Year’s Day has passed or not!) to plan out what you want. You don’t have to have a plan in place when the new year begins; a goal is a goal regardless of the season.
Open Your Mind!
While it’s easy to belittle yourself for small mistakes, try not to! Although we have goals in mind, they don’t always turn out the way we expect. For example, perhaps you made a resolution last year to make more money and live more freely. Perhaps you imagined a low-effort job with high pay and travel opportunities, but then you got a job as a flight attendant. Sure, it wasn’t exactly what you were hoping for, but in the end, you got what you wanted anyway.
Jasmine Baxter is a student at YVHS. She is the ASB Junior Secretary and plans to pursue a career in psychology.
