Many people view the New Year as a chance to start over. A chance to redo all the wrongs of the year prior. Many people use the excuse of the New Year in the months of November and December when they eat greasy food or skip a workout, simply telling themselves that they will “start next year.” So when the New Year arrives, those people create a list of the things they want to accomplish in the New Year. These lists typically include a healthy diet, consistent workout routine, and for a student, good grades. Most people stick with these resolutions in the first few months of the new year, but eventually lose their motivation to keep up with these routines. Here’s why New Year’s resolutions don’t work:

First, many resolutions don’t have strong or strict planning. If a person were to have strict steps to go along with their plan, they would be more likely to follow through with it. However, most resolutions don’t have strict schedules, and it causes people to change their steps to fit their feelings and needs at the moment. Their motivation slowly diminishes along with their goal of the new year.

Second, procrastination. Procrastination is an issue everywhere, with nearly everyone. Students procrastinate with their homework and studying, adults procrastinate with their work, and people procrastinate with their chores. “I’ll do it later” is a famous phrase all around the world. It’s not any different with the goals that are set for the New Year. A person will move their workout until tomorrow. Tomorrow, they will move their workout until the next day, and the next day, and so on until they give up their workout completely. 

Another reason why New Year’s resolutions don’t work out is because of acceptance. What I mean by acceptance is that a person accepts that they are going to “cheat” on their resolutions; they give up. For example, when a person orders a burger from the menu rather than the salad they were planning to order, they think “just this once I can cheat.” The issue is that they keep saying this until their diet is completely gone. 

Naomi Peralta expresses her thoughts on this topic: “New Year’s resolutions are a nice thought, but rarely turn out the way we hope them to.” It is important to stay motivated and committed, and new year’s resolutions are a good practice. I would recommend that you make goals for this upcoming year, and whether or not you stick with them, they will help improve your mindset, energy, and attitude for at least a couple months throughout the year. Happy New Year!