Resolutions are one of the most important traditions when it comes to celebrating the new year. They started 4,000 years ago with the ancient Babylonians, continued with the ancient Romans and remain ever-present today. People are eager to wash away their mistakes and regrets from the previous year and reinvent themselves.
However, people tend to make their resolutions unrealistic and place their expectations too high. When they cannot fulfill their expectations, they often give up. The Ohio State University states that 9% of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions complete them, while 23% quit by the first week and 43% by the end of January.
“We always advise making resolutions easy and achievable and starting off by making small steps,” Dr. Asim Shah, professor at Baylor College of Medicine, said. “Don’t jump to the big things; if you want to lose weight, make your goal weight realistic.”
Even before New Year’s, people begin setting lofty goals to “glow-up” that they hope to achieve within a too-short amount of time. The “winter arc” is a viral challenge in which people establish healthier habits for self-improvement so that they will already have completed their resolutions when New Year’s comes around.
The rules of the winter arc include completely isolating yourself from everyone and not doing anything that has no use. A healthy lifestyle does not have to be fun-free.
But why do people choose the end of the year, or beginning of the new year, to start changing their lives? Why not any other time?
According to PAR, this is due to the fresh start effect. When people reach a big landmark in their lives, they become motivated to start going for their goals, and the new year is definitely a big landmark. In peoples’ minds, the new year creates a fresh period of time where they will naturally want to start over.
New Year’s resolutions can have negative impacts on mental health. They often lead to failure and leave people blaming themselves for being unable to stick to their goals. However, New Year’s resolutions are by principle predisposed to failure and people should not blame themselves for falling off.
“When we think too far into the future, that raises our anxiety. Instead, focus on the process goal,” Dr. Susan Albers, Cleveland Clinic psychologist, said. “These are things that you can write down and do every day that you do have control over that’s going to lead to that outcome goal. Just make sure to make your mental health a priority this year. Put that on the resolution list of something you can do to take care of yourself.”
Do not feel pressured to magically lose weight or get more fit or get better grades during New Year’s. Improvement is not something that comes quickly and definitely does not only have to come with a new year.
Instead, focus on making small changes to better yourself all throughout the year. According to the coauthors of the book “The Wise Company,” Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka, there are six practices for self-improvement: develop routines, ask the right questions, retrain your brain to consider “both/and” instead of “either/or,” read more, watch the best speeches and try outdoor activities.
Remember, as a person you are always growing. You are not stagnant, you do not have to wait for a time to start blooming and you certainly don’t need to burn yourself out shooting past the stars. If you think you’ve failed your New Year’s resolution, change your mindset. Get back up and always work for your goals no matter the time. The “new me” can come at any time.
