Now that the new year has begun, it’s time to reflect and improve. That includes making new year resolutions. New year resolutions are commitments that people make at the start of a new year to improve oneself by adopting good habits, changing bad habits and accomplishing personal goals. Several students fail to follow through with their resolutions made at the start of the year due to poor planning and misunderstanding how external factors affect the motivation to change.
Usually, new year resolutions are created due to the belief that because it is a new year, people are able to have that fresh start. To achieve that fresh start, people must take the first step to actually change and reach their goal. The main way to develop that change is through habits: by getting rid of bad habits, you are making room for the more beneficial habits.
Charles Duhigg, a journalist and researcher on habit science said, “Change might not be fast and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.”
The majority of time, people have a harder time forming good habits in comparison to forming bad ones. The solution to the problem of staying consistent can be seen in the research of Katy Milkman, an economist that studies the science behind behavior change. Milkman suggests that people are more likely to form these new habits by adding personal interests to it. In an episode of Big Brains Podcast, a podcast run by the University of Chicago journalism program, she stated, “If we can find a way to make something fun by adding a spoonful of sugar, it will be more likely that we take our medicine.”
Milkman believes that habits are better formed through methods that take into account factors such as personal interests, daily routines and environments. “Once we understand people’s limitations, we can use those insights as a tool for helping them make better decisions. We can restructure environments with our knowledge of people’s limitations to try to help them make better choices,” mentioned Milkman.
If people take into account things like their daily routine and environment when making these goals and changes, people are more likely to create habits that are more sustainable since they are aware of what possible obstacles they may face.
Judson high school junior Barbara Ortiz said, “The most difficult part of changing, I would say, is the initial discomfort of breaking your old habits and staying on track even when motivation is lost.” Any sort of failure can result in the loss of motivation causing people to quit early on.
According to Forbes New Year Resolution Statistics,“20% of respondents say they keep themselves accountable when it comes to sticking to their goals. This is a massive drop compared to last year’s survey, for which 77% of respondents said they would keep themselves accountable.”
Even though the data may change, it is well known that many people fail to follow through with their goals. Different factors take part in the failure of new year resolutions, but regardless, there is one solution for it and that is the planning of them.
“I followed through pretty well for the first couple of months, but as the year went on, my consistency started to fade… The biggest reason was that I tried to change too much at once. I made my goals big instead of breaking them into small, realistic steps, so it became overwhelming over time,” answered sophomore Seth Masters.
Effective planning is the base needed for any type of goal, not just new year resolutions. A common mistake among people planning resolutions is that they don’t take their time and instead rush into it. In order to build onto something, a good base is needed, which in this case would be the careful planning, so that external factors don’t get rid of a person’s motivation behind that goal.
A good strategy to follow when planning any type of goal is following the S.M.A.R.T framework, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. By following this strategy, you are including any external factors such as your environment and routine and working with them to accomplish your goal.
According to the Corporate Finance Institute, the importance of SMART goal setting is, “Often, individuals or businesses will set themselves up for failure by setting general and unrealistic goals such as ‘I want to be the best at X.’ This goal is vague with no sense of direction. SMART goals set you up for success … The SMART method helps push you further, gives you a sense of direction, and helps you organize and reach your goals.”
Following the structure of the goals that are made is the way that they are executed or actually succeed. Working on these goals the right way is important so that motivation to complete it doesn’t get lost. It is important to begin small while also tracking any progress made. By tracking the progress made, it is easier to hold oneself accountable.
“Your surroundings should support your goals. Want to drink more water? Keep a glass by your bed so you can drink it as soon as you wake up. Want to eat more fruits and vegetables? Put them at eye level in your fridge or on the counter,” stated Mission Health.
It is essential that external factors are also included in the way goals are followed and not just in the making of a goal. For example, if you make a goal to eat healthier, it’d be best to avoid places that serve unhealthy food. Taking all the suggestions into account, a strong new year’s resolution could be, “I want to build a healthier daily routine by doing five minutes of exercise and making one healthy choice each day until the end of July, followed by a monthly reflection.”
Overall, the best way to fix the challenge of not being able to follow along with new year resolutions all year long is through careful planning and executing it strategically. Following the SMART method and keeping in mind external factors will be very beneficial in the long run. External factors in this case can be the environment a person lives in or even the places that they visit everyday. Those places can contain people or events that motivate people to achieve their goals or cause people to just become more lazy and tired. Taking into consideration the effect of such things while working towards a goal can be the very thing that leads to accomplishing those goals.