It has become a tradition that on the first of the new year, it is time to cut out the bad habits or behaviors we do and replace them with better ones. Most of us pick resolutions that are hard to keep up with though. Some examples would be: working out more, eating healthier, saving money, and be happier. These are the most popular resolutions when researched on Google, and they are all very respectable goals, but they aren’t very practical.
The first problem I have with New Year’s resolutions is the timing. There is no reason for someone to wait a whole calendar year to make changes in their life when they can start that day. It’s the ultimate procrastination excuse, “I’m going to start working out more starting January 1st” – meanwhile it’s September 3rd and you still have 4 months to be a lazy piece of crap and sit on the couch all day, making it harder for you to get back in shape. Then when January 1st actually hits, gym memberships go up as everyone is buying memberships, all the treadmills are taken, and you’re looking at the people next to you trying to figure out how to use the stair master. Give it a month and the gym will steadily be less crowed as usual.
Secondly, people pick too many resolutions. I understand that you want to change your lifestyle, but humans are naturally resistant to change and if there is too much change you will give up. Or people pick really broad goals such as “I want to run more”. Well how often do you run? Are you running three days a week with a set course and want to bump it to five days a week? Are you not running at all and want to start running everyday? People are not specific enough and it hinders their resolutions. People who set broad goals don’t have a schedule so when life gets in the way and you can’t go to the grocery store to get more avocado toast, looks like Taco Time is a great idea again.
Third, people do not give themselves a hard time after they give up. They don’t hold themselves responsible, and without any “punishment” there is no will to succeed at your goal besides wanting to be “better”. It’s a nice feeling to know that you can run a mile for four days in a row, but that day you stop for your cheat day there is no bad feeling or regret, and therefore you don’t go back to the gym and now you’ve wasted the money you wanted to also save for your second resolution. People also try to change the habits they’ve had for years alone. Having no support from someone also does not help people hold themselves accountable. If you want to “eat better”, then it’s going to be a lot easier if your roommate does it with you because then you two can call each other out when one of you is caught scarffing down a McDonald’s 20 piece McNuggets in the parking lot before you walk upstairs.
Don’t get me wrong, I think New Year’s resolutions are a great idea, but also I think they are just complete bullshit. If you have successfully completed a resolution, props to you, you are beating majority of America. But if you haven’t and will not take the steps to be successful in your resolution, I wouldn’t worry about having one this year.
