How to make New Year resolutions stick
With the beginning of the new year comes a new list of resolutions.
Whether it is to try something new, break an old habit, or build a new one, people have something to add to their New Year’s resolutions list.
“One of my resolutions was to try new things. I think it’s a pretty reasonable goal because it’s easy for me to break away from my normal cycle and try something new,” said Carlmont sophomore Brock Lotti.
However, most resolutions are never completed.
The concept of making new resolutions for the upcoming year is a tradition for people across the world. Although many people set goals for the new year, very few of these are actually accomplished.
AP Psychology student and junior Chase Nilsen said, “Most New Year’s resolutions focus on completely unrealistic standards for people, who lack the motivation to follow through.”
Many teenagers resolve to get healthier, start earning money, or do better in school.
According to Statistic Brain Research Institute, approximately 45 percent of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions, however only 8 percent are successful in achieving them.
Author of Women, Food, and Desire, Alexandra Jamieson, gave her opinion on the negative psychology behind resolutions in an article in Cosmopolitan Magazine.
“We set outrageous, unrealistic goals that make us feel we’re not worthy until we achieve them. And if we have slipups, we feel worse about ourselves than before we made the resolution,” she said in the article.
Many people make resolutions because it is customary to, but most don’t follow through.
In an interview on CNN.com, psychologist Leslie Becker-Phelps believes the majority of people who are dedicated to achieving their goals don’t make them in December or January.
She said, "I think as people mature, you may find that they just come to a place where they're ready to change. Then you're not necessarily seeing it as a New Year's resolution, you're seeing it as an evolution that might happen any time of year for them."
Writing down or announcing a goal is not nearly as difficult as making steps to change. According to the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes on average 66 days to build a new habit.
Psychology Today states that to make New Year’s Resolutions work, individuals should focus on just one goal, instead of many. In addition, goals should be realistic, and worked on throughout the year.
Nilsen stated that “Another reason that resolutions fall short can be explained by the psychological differences between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is a desire to accomplish something for a tangible reward, whereas the latter is purely internal self motivation.”
It has been scientifically proven that making resolutions for the new year rarely results in accomplishment of goals, yet thousands of people continue to make and fail at them, year after year.
Sophomore Ben Hood believes that the reason for this repetition is “to make people feel better by thinking that they might make a change, even if they don’t follow through.”
"If you're making a resolution just to make a resolution, your heart is probably not in it. There's a good chance you won't do what you need to do to make it happen," said Becker-Phelps.
As the new year kicks off, only time will tell if Carlmont students will stick to their resolutions or not.
Whether it is to try something new, break an old habit, or build a new one, people have something to add to their New Year’s resolutions list.
“One of my resolutions was to try new things. I think it’s a pretty reasonable goal because it’s easy for me to break away from my normal cycle and try something new,” said Carlmont sophomore Brock Lotti.
However, most resolutions are never completed.
The concept of making new resolutions for the upcoming year is a tradition for people across the world. Although many people set goals for the new year, very few of these are actually accomplished.
AP Psychology student and junior Chase Nilsen said, “Most New Year’s resolutions focus on completely unrealistic standards for people, who lack the motivation to follow through.”
Many teenagers resolve to get healthier, start earning money, or do better in school.
According to Statistic Brain Research Institute, approximately 45 percent of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions, however only 8 percent are successful in achieving them.
Author of Women, Food, and Desire, Alexandra Jamieson, gave her opinion on the negative psychology behind resolutions in an article in Cosmopolitan Magazine.
“We set outrageous, unrealistic goals that make us feel we’re not worthy until we achieve them. And if we have slipups, we feel worse about ourselves than before we made the resolution,” she said in the article.
Many people make resolutions because it is customary to, but most don’t follow through.
In an interview on CNN.com, psychologist Leslie Becker-Phelps believes the majority of people who are dedicated to achieving their goals don’t make them in December or January.
She said, "I think as people mature, you may find that they just come to a place where they're ready to change. Then you're not necessarily seeing it as a New Year's resolution, you're seeing it as an evolution that might happen any time of year for them."
Writing down or announcing a goal is not nearly as difficult as making steps to change. According to the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes on average 66 days to build a new habit.
Psychology Today states that to make New Year’s Resolutions work, individuals should focus on just one goal, instead of many. In addition, goals should be realistic, and worked on throughout the year.
Nilsen stated that “Another reason that resolutions fall short can be explained by the psychological differences between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is a desire to accomplish something for a tangible reward, whereas the latter is purely internal self motivation.”
It has been scientifically proven that making resolutions for the new year rarely results in accomplishment of goals, yet thousands of people continue to make and fail at them, year after year.
Sophomore Ben Hood believes that the reason for this repetition is “to make people feel better by thinking that they might make a change, even if they don’t follow through.”
"If you're making a resolution just to make a resolution, your heart is probably not in it. There's a good chance you won't do what you need to do to make it happen," said Becker-Phelps.
As the new year kicks off, only time will tell if Carlmont students will stick to their resolutions or not.