"So, what's your resolution for the new year?"

This is the question that is asked over and over again until the ball finally drops at midnight. Eating healthier, working out more, being a nicer person and having a stronger work ethic are just a few of the things that people seem to resolve to do every single new year. And while they're all great ideas, the fact that they are only life changes made around the time of the new year is what makes them not so great. And here's why: your New Year's resolution doesn't mean a damn thing.

New Year's resolutions, while they're great in theory, have one fatal flaw. People can never keep them. Jokes are made that gyms will fill up for three weeks after New Year's, full of people that have decided to get healthy and workout as soon as the year begins, but then clear out once the hype is over and real life begins to set in. The truth is, if you have to wait until the beginning of the year to make some major (or minor) change in your life, it most likely will end as fast as it began.

However, I understand the appeal of waiting until the new year to make a change. The fattening foods and booze associated with the holiday season is finally over, work has begun again, or school is back in session and grades are number one on your mind. The problem with waiting until the new year is that the sudden change trying to be made is something that is completely new to you and your set schedule. While the resolutions to study more and get more involved in school don't have this flaw, as a new semester is starting, other resolutions usually end up to be harder to make time for than anticipated. People get set into their groove, and any change is hard to include. That's why resolutions shouldn't be held off until the new year. Resolutions should be gradual changes, not major things that will totally throw off the balance of your universe aka your daily schedule. If you need to start working out, don't expect to make it to the gym every day or even every couple of days. Because most likely, you don't have time for that and that's what stopped you from starting before the holidays. Instead, strive for a one-day workout and slowly work up to more. The same idea can be applied to any resolution your heart so desires to make. Small changes, beginning in the new year if they must, and then slowly build up. By doing this, the resolution that might've fizzled out in the first week of January might make it until at least March (maybe even longer if you're optimistic).

So, don't stress about your resolution. Big changes aren't going to be followed through for New Year's, so don't expect life to all of a sudden be a certain way because of a statement or thought on midnight on January 1. Instead, slowly build your way up to whatever idea is in your head. Don't let a failed resolution ruin your New Year, and don't feel like a failure if you don't have one at midnight when the ball drops. Small, gradual changes that actually last beat a big, dramatic change that fails by the end of January any day.