It is one thing to declare a list of resolutions amidst the celebration and launch of a new year. It is another, however, to keep up with those resolutions. With the first month of 2013 having passed, the number of people who have given up on their resolutions has steadily increased. According to The New York Times, four out of five people who make resolutions will eventually break them and a third of them will not have made it past the end of January.
“I think it’s important for people to keep their resolutions because it makes them better people,” senior Addison Chappell said. “My New Year’s resolution was to be a better friend and so far I have kept it, but I know a lot of people that haven’t been able to stick with their 2013 resolutions.”
Making a resolution and being unable to fulfill it can be disheartening for many. Year after year, they face the disappointment of failing yet again. What most people fail to consider, however, is the achievability of their resolutions. Their goals are too extreme and fantastical and when results are slow to come, the quitters are quick to run.
“I believe people are unable to keep their resolutions because they make unrealistic goals,” senior Kori Bennett said. “They decide to drop astronomical amounts of weight or change their lifestyle in one day. Then they fail miserably and try again next January.”
According to The Boston Globe, 60 percent of adults in America plan to make a resolution with only 40 percent truly setting their goals for the new year. That leaves a whole other 40 percent of people who never even consider creating resolutions. The futility of completing one’s goals has led this large number of hopefuls down the path of resignation, resulting in the dismissal of these resolutions altogether.
“I usually make New Year’s resolutions, but I didn’t this year because I never fulfill them,” junior Erica Juarez said. “I think it’s easier to just not make any resolutions because then I don’t have this goal that I’m struggling to reach.”
While many choose to ignore this tradition, there are still those who believe making and keeping resolutions is an important character-building trait. Focusing on long-term lifestyle changes is the best way to set goals and keep them. While it may be easy to get discouraged, making New Year’s resolutions is a practice that requires the motivation and perseverance that will benefit people in every aspect of their lives.
“Life changes are essential,” Bennett said. “Just like when a new phone update comes out, so do people. But, of course, they don’t happen overnight. Changing your life takes time. When someone really needs change in their life and they do it for the better, that’s the best kind of resolution anyone can make.”
