When a new year is upon us, it is customary to feel an array of emotions: excitement, wishfulness, and even anxiety. With the promise of a fresh start, many students might have their mind set on raising their GPAs or beginning a new workout routine, while teachers may be determined to finish grading essays at a faster rate or wishing to find ways to implement more hands-on lessons. These are all examples of things a person may want to accomplish; a goal, and they rest within the tradition of New Year’s Resolutions.
Unlike goal-making throughout the year, New Year’s resolutions are commitments or promises a person makes in light of the annual reset. Seen as a fresh start, individuals aim to create goals that help achieve self-improvement, form new habits, and break some old ones. Habitually, people make goals every day; when a high schooler wants to finish his/her homework in order to play video games, that is a goal. When a parent wants to complete all house chores before the beginning of the week, that is also a goal. These are specifically examples of short-term goals. Yet, the New Year brings people to set far grander objectives. Once the month of December comes, some people begin to wonder about what they want their resolutions to be. “I should start waking up at 4 a.m. to study for school,” “I should stop buying Starbucks every day for lunch,” “By March, I should have stuck to a low-calorie diet and completed one-hour sessions of intense cardio to finally lose 50 pounds.” Are these goals bad? No. Are they unrealistic? Yes, very much so.
New Year’s resolutions are simply ineffective. The new year causes people to get ahead of themselves and brainstorm impractical goals that cannot reasonably be fulfilled in the allotted time they are given. Social studies and psychology teacher John Cornicello explained, “We’re so motivated at the beginning of the year. We assume this is going to be ‘my year,’ and then the year gets away from you, and then it’s not your year.” Nevertheless, Cornicello believes in New Year’s resolutions and their effectiveness: “I think they’re incredibly useful because they help motivate us. Goals are incredibly important in our psychology and psychological [well-being] because goals keep us motivated towards an endpoint.”
If it takes years to build up a habit, what makes a person so sure they can break it in three, four, or even five months? Adjusting a routine that has been consistent for a significant amount of time cannot be done overnight. Senior Katie Torres agreed and explained, “It’s hard to make a commitment to something. For example, someone might declare ‘I’m going to stop drinking soda,’ but many still drink it the next day.” There are countless cases where this rings true. “I think [New Year’s resolutions are] just something people say to make themselves feel better, but they never go through with it,” Torres concluded.
There are scientific findings in support and negation of the efficiency of New Year’s resolutions. A Verywell Mind (verywellmind.com) article entitled, “Why We’re Still Conditioned to Uphold New Year’s Resolutions,” revealed that, “Human brains are wired to resist change. Our minds find patterns and streamline all the sensory input around us before we are even aware of it. Once it finds a pathway that works, it doesn’t deviate from it to prevent expending more energy than required.” In other words, resolutions not only need to be practical, but should be integrated into one’s daily schedule gradually rather than immediately in order for it to eventually transform into a regular habit. Unfortunately, many do not realize this. Instead, they are filled by a burst of motivation and rashly, amidst the excitement, make decisions that are not feasible.
Could New Year’s resolutions work if done premeditatedly? Perhaps. Cornicello illuminated, “It’s important to adjust or have some self reflection to say ‘This works,’ ‘This didn’t work,’ and ‘I need to understand why it didn’t work and the reason for that.’” The efficacy of resolutions always goes back to its technicalities: Am I giving myself enough time? Am I working it into my daily life in a realistic way that will not end in a relapse?
In all seriousness, the New Year takes place right after the holly and jolly holidays, hence why resolutions are not always logical. People must begin to treat resolutions the way they would treat any goal or commitment at any other time of the year, allowing them to plan and execute the goal in a more realistic manner. Objectively, it is the season in which the New Year takes place that sets individuals up for failure. This is why New Year’s resolutions fail and do not lead to the desired outcome.
