As we commence the second month of the year, I believe it is a perfect time to reflect on the annual New Year’s Resolution frenzy, and why it is essentially pointless and ends in far more failures than successes.
According to Forbes.com, over half of the American population makes a New Year’s resolution, which often involves something health related such as quitting smoking or losing weight.
Although many set these goals for the New Year, only 8% of them actually succeed and accomplish their goals. (Forbes.com)
Upon looking at this shocking statistic, it is natural to question why so many of us fail.
In my opinion the New Year’s resolution has turned into a corporate holiday for health businesses and gyms to sucker those who desire to live a healthier lifestyle in a time driven by the hype that they create.
Many fail because the people who rely on a resolution at the end of the year are not self-motivated enough to make this change throughout the entire year leading up to the conclusion of the year.
A problem that we often overlook is setting realistic goals.
Amy Cudy, a Social Psychologist and Harvard University Business Professor, claims that, “People are making absolute statements about what they’re going to do and that’s setting them up for failure immediately.”
Cudy has extensively studied goal- setting behavior and has come to the conclusion that we are very bad at setting realistic and attainable goals.
I believe that a crucial factor in attaining our goals of a healthy lifestyle is setting up a weekly plan that we know we can follow. It can essentially be more harmful to set unrealistic goals that will lead to failure, and ultimately self-doubt.
Keeping simple goals that are realistic allows us to feel successful which could lead to the continuation of a healthy lifestyle and completion of our goals.
This leads me to my next problem with New Year’s resolutions. They facilitate the mentality that we can slack all year on our goals and simply start again at the beginning of a New Year.
Therefore, it appears to be more of a temporary goal rather than a lifestyle change.
We would have more success in changing our health behaviors if we simply made our goals for ourselves rather than socially conforming to the media buzz of a New Year’s resolution.
Instead of focusing on simply the start of a New Year, we should be focusing on the year and our lives in their entirety.
Most New Year’s resolutions end at about this time or the one-month period.
I believe making specific goals rather than vague ones, and setting a small number of them, will make success more
tangible for us.
Another overlooked subject in the
field of New Year’s resolutions and any lifestyle goal for that matter is your social support network.
A study from the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology showed that a lack of social support leads to an increase in heart rate, cortisol levels, and anxiety.
I suggest finding a friend or family member to join you in your goals of a healthier life. Having someone who is going through the same struggles with you will make it easier to overcome them and ultimately share in that success.
According to the University of Scranton, the number one New Year’s resolution of 2015 is to lose weight.
With the aforementioned conclusions, it is clear to see that this is far too vague and encompasses too many goals.
Instead of simply saying “I want to lose weight,” it may be more beneficial to say, “I want to work out four times a week.”
The latter statement is far more specific and could ultimately lead to the accomplishment of the first goal.
Regardless if you are a believer in New Year’s resolutions or a strong opponent of it, I believe we all can come together on the common goal of improving our quality of life.
The intentions of the New Year’s resolutions are good, but this annual phenomenon needs to be modified so that the success of the individual matches the success of the economic market during this time.
Zach Heppner
Viewpoints Editor