With the arrival of the new year, come new beginnings, hope, and renewal. However, there also comes a pressure to completely change your habits and “fix” your lifestyle. Especially impacted by social media, there is an enormous amount of pressure to change everything for the new year. Resolutions can be helpful in addressing certain aspects of your life that you wish to change; however, they can also be completely unrealistic and unachievable, often leading to feelings of frustration and disappointment rather than your ideal lifestyle. While the idea of making resolutions is a fun tradition, there are better, more effective ways to actually set yourself for success and see a desired change.
“Resolutions are plausible, they are possible, changes in habit are possible, but it requires intrinsic motivation and dedication,” believes Emery/Weiner School Learning Support Interventionist, Jyme Roundtree. He adds, “you need 21-28 days to form habits.” That is definitely something to consider when you are rattling off New Year’s resolutions while eating grapes under the table!
“Having schedules to remind you of the resolution, is the best way to change a habit and follow through with it,” believes Roundtree.
SMART goals is a system of creating a goal in a manner that is more efficient and achievable, through utilising a timeframe and progress checks. “They cause you to actually think about what you want to do,” says Amber West, Emery/Weiner Learning Support Specialist.
When creating resolutions, it can be hard to know where to start, “Being honest with yourself about the goal you’re trying to get to, is probably the first key that people should do,” recommends Roundtree.
With the excitement of the new year, people often find themselves in situations where they have spread themselves too thin, trying to accomplish too many goals. Balancing work time and time to rest and explore personal passions is key to a successful year.
“Where are you on your own schedule?” prompts Roundtree. “The more you can get used to the fact that work is coming, you can challenge yourself to find where in your day you can make time,” he adds.
“I think about what brings me joy,” reflects West. “I try to make sure I have time for those things every day,” she adds.
A common misconception with New Year’s resolutions is that you have 365 days to become perfect. Ms. West believes this mindset needs to change; “It’s okay to restart,” she believes. “You don’t need to throw away everything you worked for because of one thing,” West says.
So, let’s let 2025 become the year we achieve our resolutions and change our lives by changing our mindset to one of positivity and flexibility.
