Written by: Alexis Dewey
“3…2…1…Happy New Year!” You hear the shouting and cheering as you look around with a new excitement, your eyes filling with tears. You take in your first breath of the new year and exhale, just trying to bask in the moment and absorb your surroundings.
Then, it hits you. It is Jan. 1, the beginning of a new year.
That sweet moment ends abruptly as you immediately become nervous and feel the sweat dripping down your forehead.
“It is the first day of New Year’s resolutions,” you think to yourself with a big sigh. “Time to change my whole life around and quit everything I love.”
It seems the time after every Christmas holiday is spent discussing New Year’s resolutions. Conversations surrounding the “big changes” everyone is making can be daunting for some people, leaving many feeling like those same changes should be made in their own lives.
At the start of each year, people work hard toward their goals: to be healthier, have more devotional time, volunteer more, learn how to cook, etc. Oftentimes, people will set high expectations for themselves that can seem unattainable. In return, people often become discouraged and give up before they accomplish their goals.
No one likes feeling defeated. No one enjoys feeling as if they have failed themselves. This is another reason why many people find New Year’s resolutions so daunting. In fact, according to a poll that Forbes Health conducted, 61.7% of people felt pressured to set a New Year’s resolution. Then, only a few months later, 90% of those resolutions were no longer upheld.
Preparing for the new year and wanting to make positive changes in your life is not the issue I have with New Year’s resolutions. What I dislike is that some people tend to take these resolutions too far. For example, I have heard too many conversations about people wanting to be “healthier,” so they decide they are going to skip meals in order to lose weight. Thinking “too big” is not always the route to take while finding a new resolution. Resolutions should be goals that inspire us to push ourselves to improve as individuals, not to burn ourselves out.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve yourself. However, wouldn’t it be better to try improving when you first notice the issue, instead of waiting around for Jan. 1? That could make New Year’s resolutions less daunting and nerve-wracking.
Another tip I have found helpful is to take your resolution at a steady pace while starting out. You don’t have to quit certain things “cold-turkey” in order to achieve your goals. Sometimes, taking it one step at a time will have a much bigger benefit.
At the end of January, you don’t want to be already giving up on resolutions you started at the beginning. Make your goals achievable, and take it one step at a time. Follow the simple guidelines below, and check out this week’s lifestyle column to discover more tips for setting goals this year.
Make attainable goals
Don’t wait for Jan. 1, start now.
Slow, steady pace. Slow improvement is better than no improvement.
