Over the years, New Year’s resolutions have gotten a bad reputation. New Year’s resolutions are a tradition where someone changes a behavior or trait about themselves to improve their life. Although this tradition is supposed to support self-improvement, it actually just encourages failure. According to research from the University of Scranton, only eight percent of people actually hold true to their New Year’s resolution. If people recognize these low statistics, why do we continue to repeat this action every year?

One opinion is that we like the way it makes us feel. It is basic human nature that we are drawn to things that make us feel good. For example, this could be giving to charity, volunteering at a shelter, or even eating comfort foods in difficult times. By setting a New Year’s resolution, we get a sense of self-accomplishment.

However, you are most likely going to abandon the resolution by the spring, so why do you feel accomplished by just setting a resolution? Resolutions also give the perception of a stopping point. You should constantly be improving upon yourself. Rather than just losing weight as a resolution, you should set a goal to live a healthier lifestyle. Make a goal that is more permanent.

Furthermore, people often don’t write down their New Year’s resolution in a place visible to them, so it is easy to forget about them. If something is constantly in your face, you won’t forget about it. Another thing to add, no one is holding you accountable to your New Year’s resolution. If you had something that you would not want to lose, you would be more likely to accomplish the resolution. Another reason people make resolutions is peer pressure.

People feel pressured to make a resolution in order to fit into the crowd. They have this delusional belief that something bad will happen or that they are above self-improvement by refusing to set a New Year’s resolution. This leads to unrealistic expectations for themselves. With that said, New Year’s resolutions are, in fact, stupid.

This year, you should set a goal for yourself rather than a New Year’s resolution. Goals allow you to really think about how you would like to self-improve, rather than set a cliche expectation that everyone else is doing. Goals are more attainable because they seem less intimidating. As mentioned above, make the goal something long term that you can keep working towards in the future. For example, buying a new home or saving for a traveling trip.

I want to end on this note, in reference to your personal goals this year. Just go through with something! Stop giving yourself excuses not to or that you’re waiting for the right moment because it may never come. Stop waiting a whole year to accomplish something. You should continue to improve upon yourself, no matter what time of the year. It is never too late to start.