As 2025 begins, the new year invites students to take the initiative to be ambitious in their goal-setting. Regardless of what their New Year’s resolution may be, students take action left and right trying to remain consistent with their new-found motivation. 

According to a 2023 study by Dr. Michelle Rozen on Knox News, only about 6% of people are actually able to maintain their goals throughout the entire year. The idea behind the “New Year, New Me” mindset is a sure way to set you up for failure as nearly a third of the participants in Dr. Michelle Rozen’s experiment stopped pursuing their goals midway through January. Another 63.5% of the original participants halted their progress to a stop nearing February. 

The question that remains: why do humans tend to give up on goals so easily? Is it because we’re lazy? Or perhaps there is an underlying psychological trigger that’s getting in the way of pursuing whatever it is that we’re going for. 

Reasons as to why goals are not maintainable are endless: poor timing, too broad of a goal, lack of accountability, intrinsic motivation… the list goes on. However, the main cause of giving up, according to Baylor College of Medicine, is because our goals are simply too unrealistic. 

“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient,” wrote author Steve Maraboli. “The truth of the matter is that switching up your lifestyle in the blink of an eye is incredibly difficult, especially if you’re unable to switch up how you’re living prior to the new year.”

The idea of having a New Year’s resolution tends to restrict the mind, making the switch harder than ever. Instead, try easing into the mindset of your new goal first, and then making small specific changes to whatever it is you’re trying to improve. The specificity of the goal can go a long way, and working on each step in increments tremendously increases your chances of truly making a difference in your life.

Take studying, for example. If you’re procrastinating every day and never finishing your homework, telling yourself you’re going to wake up the next morning a new student, and suddenly start studying for 8 hours a day, is a sure way to guarantee a lack of success. 

Things you can do to improve consistency are planning ahead, making small changes and taking accountability for small mishaps along the way.

Let’s say you’re trying to go to the gym every day before school. You can pack your bags and start prepping your breakfast the night before in order to save time and encourage yourself to make a trip to the gym. Instead of setting your goal as, “waking up at 5 a.m. and heading to the gym for two hours,” start with, “wake up at 6 a.m. and go to the gym for 30 minutes.” Although 30 minutes may not seem like much in the beginning, in comparison to the two hours, it’s a huge step forward from not going to the gym at all. Lastly, being able to take accountability for your actions is a huge part of growing. If you miss a day at the gym, ask yourself why you missed it, and what you can do going forward to help prevent that from happening again. 

Goals are a huge part of life. Being able to have something to look forward to achieving is what it’s all about: growing and changing, enjoying the process and continuing to pursue your interests starting in moderation. It’s never too late to start, and no matter where you are, it’s pertinent to have these goals to help set you up for motivation and success. 

Like many individuals across the globe, Oak Park High School students are ready to spark a change in their life by improving lifestyle habits. Four students described the goals they had set for themselves and how they were planning to achieve them.

“My New Year’s resolution is to have more discipline,” senior Addie Vandenhengel said. “In the past, I’ve been flippant about keeping up on goals to better myself mentally, physically and emotionally, but this year that is going to change.”

Vandenhengel plans on practicing operant conditioning this year to help aid her in achieving her goal: “I’m going to reward myself for correct behavior and vice versa.”

While some students are focused on making changes to improve their mentality, freshman Alexandria Nelson described new fitness goals. 

“My resolution is to become more fit and to improve my endurance,” Nelson said. “I would like to get faster and improve my speed.” 

Nelson plans on running as much as possible to achieve her goals. Similarly, senior Jake O’Leary has big desires for the year to come. 

“My 2025 New Year’s goal is to complete an Ironman triathlon,” O’Leary said. He described feeling highly motivated as he is training and competing alongside his older brother.

Finally, other students are dedicated to improving their academic performance. 

“This year, I am going to prioritize my grades and work harder in school,” freshman Yash Pandey said. “I am going to dedicate more time to studying and doing homework before deadlines to become more successful.”

Whether it’s a mental, physical or academic change, students across the OPHS campus have set goals to better themself with the start of the new year.