Why We Should Stop Making New Year’s Resolutions
With the New Year comes the tradition of making resolutions. Making resolutions at the start of each new year is something that has been done for 4,000 years, when the custom was started by the Babylonians. People usually vow at the start of the New Year that they will change themselves for the better; maybe it is to lose weight, spend less money, or become more organized. People use the New Year as a way to revamp themselves, hence the saying “New Year, New Me.”
Don’t waste time making New Year’s resolutions this year. Yes, the idea of having a clean slate at the beginning of the New Year can be comforting, but in the end, New Year’s resolutions can actually hurt more than they help. According to Forbes, the University of Scranton found that only 8% of Americans actually succeed with their resolutions. Feeling pressure to meet a certain goal and then failing can make you feel weak and unable to reach future obtainable goals.
If we keep expecting that the New Year will be a million times bigger and better as long as we stick to our resolutions, we are only setting ourselves up for disappointment. We will feel dissatisfied with ourselves. It’s not healthy to hang onto the idea that if we finally lose weight, or finally spend less money, we’ll be completely transformed and happy. This is untrue, and it can make us obsess unhealthily, reversing the good intention behind New Year’s resolutions.
I am all for self improvement. However, why start improving only at the beginning of the New Year? You can start being healthier, or sleeping more, any day of the year. Don’t use the New Year as an excuse to finally start being better, only to give up on your resolution shortly into the New Year. When you feel that something needs to be improved in your life, start right then and there. Don’t underestimate yourself; you don’t need a new year to be a new you. Take it as it comes, and don’t put extra pressure to be a certain way by a certain time. Improve as you see fit, and take it slow. By doing that, we can go at our own pace, and be happier and healthier at any day in the year, not just starting January 1st.