As we all know, it's finally 2016 and as the typical new year's time phrase goes "new year, new me." But do we really change so much from year to year, and more importantly, are those 24 hours that separate 2016 from 2015 really that influential to our lives? As I left my house this New Years Eve to sleep over my friend's house in Jersey I felt a pang of sadness that I was leaving my house for the rest of the year and I wouldn't be back until literally 2016. But as I was driving to a different state I thought to myself "I won't even be gone for 24 hours."
At the end of each year we look back on the previous year we just experienced and think about everything that went right and everything that went wrong. From there, we often choose what's known as a "New Years Resolution," which is supposed to be some type of motto that we follow for the next year. However, those mottos often die out by the end of January, where we realize 2016 really is no different than 2015 was and no matter what type of new years resolution we make, our lives will mostly likely be the same at the end of January as they were in December of the previous year. Considering all of these things, here are four reasons why new years resolutions are a bust.
1. We Forget them
Have you ever had that feeling in July where you look at yourself and go "I really feel like I've been fulfilling my new years resolution this year?" Neither have I, and that's exactly why these things don't work out the way that we all say they will on January 1st. By the middle of March we don't even remember what we were trying to accomplish this year. That is why so many people who get committed to their health and fitness stop going to the gym after a couple weeks when they don't feel like it anymore. They're not really committed in the first place so when all of the new years talk stops, the resolutions go with it, and that's why we don't remember what they were in the first place.
2. We Recycle Them
How many people in the past few years have you heard want to get really committed to their health and fitness next year? And how many of them actually follow up on that? The problem with the idea of a new years resolution is that they can be so generic and impersonal. People who don't actually want to get back in shape just say that they do because it's "trendy" or "everybody else is dong it" but that's not why we should make these resolutions in the first place.
3. They're Meaningless
The ideas that we claim to be our own each year on how we want to improve ourselves are often so meaningless because they don't come from our own heads. We know what it is that we want to do differently to really change from year to year, but instead of making new years resolutions that are unique to ourselves, we choose to say things that make us sound cool or do things that others are doing. We don't put any meaning into these new years resolutions because they are not actually what we want to commit ourselves to.
4. We Aren't Committed
Since we aren't making personal resolutions, they don't mean anything to us, and therefore, we aren't committed to making them come true. We know exactly what to do to make our resolutions reality, and yet we don't follow through. When we finally do make a resolution that is personal and is something we care about, that is when we begin to make strides towards what we want to achieve. But until we can get over the trendiness of being committed to our health or staying positive, we can't achieve our resolution goals.
New years resolutions can be a really great idea if they are created and executed correctly, and when they are they really do wonders for us. So this new years, make a resolution that is personal to you and follow through with it during the year. At the end of December 2016, remember the resolution you made on January 1st and ask yourself, "Did I really follow through with my new years resolution this year?"
Happy New Year everybody!
