Once the clock strikes 12 on New Year’s day, social media post everywhere read “new year, new me.” The rush to write down and start new year’s resolutions begins. At the start of each year people strive to better themselves by making New Year’s Resolutions. People try hard to keep up but frankly most give up and say “maybe next year.”
The resolutions we make are good for trying to start off on the right foot going into a new year, but that’s not the only time of year people should do something to change.
Now that it’s February, most people have given up on their hopes of bettering themselves. A month in and people begin to lose motivation on the resolutions they promised to keep. Some people give up on their resolutions because they didn’t have a plan, or they just can’t resist the temptation.
At the start of 2017, three Leesville students were asked about their personal resolutions and their plan to maintain their goals. A month later, the same students were asked about their progress on resolutions.
- Resolutions
Student A: “This year I was trying to eat healthier. I wanted to improve my health so I could feel better about myself.”
Student B: “My new year’s resolution was to be a better person. I wanted to improve myself for the benefit of me and the important people in my life. I hoped that by being positive this would help other people feel better about themselves too.”
Student C: “I went into this new year and new semester wanting to improve myself as a student. I know 2017 is going to be tough but I need to get my grades up.”
- Plan of Action
Student A: “I felt that if I went into [the year] with a plan I would have too much pressure to stick to it… making me eventually give up because I wouldn’t keep up.”
Student B: “I went into the new year with a new mindset. I felt that a fresh start would help me stay focused on my goal. As for a plan I decided to keep it simple. I just had a few daily things I could do to improve myself.”
Student C: “My plan for action was to study more and procrastinate less.”
3.) Results
Student A: “I started the year off on a good note. I was eating healthy everyday. I tried to keep up with my healthy eating habits, but as the month went on it got really hard. Now it’s a month into 2017 and I’ve pretty much stopped. I still eat rather healthy, but I’m nowhere near where I wanted to be at this point.”
Student B: “I have been able to keep up with my resolutions for one month now. My plan of small daily task to make myself a nicer person worked. So far I’ve pushed myself to do a nice thing everyday, and I’m still going strong.”
Student C: “My plan didn’t work. I lost motivation the second week into January. I think part of my problem was that I wasn’t strict enough on myself, and I didn’t have much to work toward.”
The students all agreed on one thing: resolutions and goals should have a personal aspect to them in order to keep them achievable. By making resolutions personal, the students felt it was easier to keep up with them because they pushed themselves to improve.
Even though most resolutions don’t make it through the whole year, minor improvements can be made in our daily lives. Trying to improve your life doesn’t have to start at the beginning of the year; it can take place year round. And, if we are being honest, we often pick up on our failed resolutions multiple times throughout the year. Passion, motivation and a little personal touch is all you need to try and improve yourself anytime during the year.
