Everyone might already know what a New Year's resolution is.
It is a goal (or multiple goals) set during the beginning of the year that a person hopes to achieve, usually by the end of the same year. Some call it a bucket list, but we first knew it as a New Year’s resolution. These self-promises could range from better studying habits to healthy living and even setting one’s mind for greater things. As long as it is feasible, go ahead and do it. After all, the sky's the limit.
New Year’s resolutions are strongly linked to an old Christian tradition of retrospectively evaluating their past mistakes during the first day of a New Year in order to learn from them. Basically, New Year's resolutions are a way to affirm that one will try to live a better life in the coming year than they did in the previous one.
It sounds simple enough, but why is it so difficult to keep a New Year's resolution for the entire year? How did the New Year's resolution become an improbable goal — a myth, if you will?
According to the most notable study on New Year's resolution, it was found that 23% of the 200 participants quit a week after setting their New Year's resolution, with only 19% of them ending up sticking to their resolutions until the end. By no means is 19% a small percentage, but that’s not even half of the people.
In an attempt to uncover the answer to this question, I interviewed a 4th year PUP student, CJ Reyes, who also happens to be a New Year's resolution non-believer. Along with a few personal retrospections, here’s what I learned from CJ about the matter.
The problem with commitment
“Hindi naman kasi talaga natutupad [ang New Year's resolution] unless kung personality talaga ng tao na maging mahigpit sa sarili niya,” CJ said. (They [New Year's resolution] don’t really get fulfilled unless it's a person’s personality to discipline him/herself.)
Of course, you have to be committed to your goal. Of course, you need the motivation to see your New Year's resolution to the end. These are obvious traits required to achieve a goal, be it a New Year's resolution or otherwise, but the application of these depends entirely on the person's attitude.
CJ admitted herself that she lacks the self-discipline to finish any of her New Year's resolutions, oftentimes even forgetting that she had one, to begin with. By the time she remembers, it would be halfway through the year, so she didn’t see the need to hold on to it anymore.
For people who find it challenging to stick to a routine every single day, a New Year's resolution may be an arduous task to keep. However, this does not mean that people cannot improve in areas such as discipline. If anything, once you become aware of your own shortcomings, you can take it upon yourself to become better at achieving your goals.
What’s beyond our control
During my conversation with CJ, I realized there could be another reason, aside from lack of self-discipline. One of the reasons why New Year's resolutions are hard to finish may also be because of external reasons.
I found out that what hinders me from standing firm with my New Year's resolution isn’t necessarily my lack of trying but from forces beyond my control. These external forces may be the environment around you, major events in your life, or in extreme cases, the state of your mental health.
In these types of situations, nobody knows what the future may hold, so there is no foreseeable way to circumvent instances that can affect the achievement of a long-term goal, such as that of a New Year's resolution.
However, I believe that this could be somewhat resolved by being flexible with your resolutions. You know the famous adage, “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonades.” And so, when life gets in the way, it is better to learn to adapt than to give up entirely.
Just start now… or whenever you want
When I asked CJ the reason why she doesn’t believe in New Year's resolutions anymore, she told me this: “Kahit hindi naman new year, kapag gusto mo may baguhin sa sarili mo, pwede mo gawin.” (Even if it’s not the new year, if you want to change something in yourself, you can always do it.)
For CJ, if you aim to improve your quality of life, why not start whenever you feel like it? It shouldn’t matter whether it is in the middle or at the end of the year. What’s important is having the courage to actually start doing something.
"It shouldn’t matter whether it is in the middle or at the end of the year. What’s important is having the courage to actuallystart doing something."
If you have an objective in mind that you want to achieve no matter what, and you already have the means and the drive, why not start now? Quite a forward thinker, as I recognize that this type of thinking may lead to people not subscribing to the idea of a New Year's resolution anymore.
What needs to be said
The biggest lesson that I learned is that, to begin with, a New Year’s resolution is not a myth at all, as it is not an entirely impossible goal to attain. However, various factors play a huge role in succeeding, some of which are impossible for us to control.
"A New Year’s resolution is not a myth at all, as it is not an entirely impossible goal to attain."
Setting clear goals and living to achieve them is a great way to go about life, but I feel it’s also important to remind you to do it at a pace that suits you. You don’t have to finish it in just a year, it could take years, and no one will fault you for it.
Remember, take it slow, learn to adapt from the circumstances surrounding you, and have the willpower to never give up easily. Yes, I think those will help attain a “new and better you.”
Graphics by: Nicky Pacardo
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