Mignacca:
Tis the season for making New Year’s resolutions. Popular resolution topics include eating healthier, being more organized, managing one’s time better and exercising more. However, it’s estimated that around 80% of New Year’s resolutions end up in failure. With that said, should New Year’s resolutions even be a thing anymore?
Having goals and working to reach them is very important because it keeps humans motivated and organized when planning future endeavors. New Year’s resolutions are usually too broad and are not set up in a way that makes reaching a goal achievable. Wanting to change your diet, going to the gym, making more money and being happier are great goals, but how does one complete these big ideas? Taking big goals and breaking them into smaller checkpoints could be the key to accomplishing resolutions. Expecting to change in a short amount of time without a well mapped out plan, is a hard thing to do and setting you up for failure. I’ve heard it takes about 21 days to form a new habit, so why are we trying to push ourselves to complete New Year’s resolutions so quickly?
New Year’s resolutions have been overvalued, making them more stressful and overwhelming. You’ll feel bad once you fail to stick to them, which gives the concept a negative connotation. Instead of rushing change to accomplish a New Year’s resolution, people should give themselves the time to plan out what they really want from their aspirations. At the end of the day, that’s what a New Year’s resolution is – a goal. Give yourself the time to change and do it well. Following through with goals can be very fulfilling and sometimes life-changing. Instead of being overwhelmed by New Year’s resolutions, we should set smaller achievable goals for ourselves so that we can truly follow through with lifestyle changes.
Perez:
The New Year’s resolution may be infamously lacking when it comes to execution, but it has motivated many to step out of their comfort zones and try something new. The beauty of the resolution is that it is a dedication that only the individual can enforce on themselves. It is entirely possible that it never gets done and that is okay, since no one forced anyone to do it. However, this makes the completion of the resolution so much sweeter as it comes from complete will power.
There is a difference between completing an assignment, for example, because it was required by a class and doing research for the sake of better understanding a topic. The latter would typically be considered a more fulfilling task, the same goes for the resolution. On top of that, the resolution has been a time-honored tradition that has benefited many individuals who have taken it up. The New Year is a time for rebirth and renewal. It’s the perfect time to take up new hobbies or polish up skills. It may also be a great time to stop certain habits that may have been counterproductive.
All in all, a resolution can help more people than it hurts. Separating the resolution into smaller goals would be a good alternative, but it would not have the same impact as creating a larger, overarching resolution to adhere to for the year. To put it simply: brushing off the resolution or trying to downsize it due to doubts about following it through are not reasons to avoid challenging yourself in the New Year.
