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In this article, Kai Blackmon will be trying to understand how people continue to fail at resolutions after years of the same advice.
At the end of the article, make sure to check out Riley Barta's 2023 Bingo Sheet!
Failing New Year's Resolutions
Failing New Year's Resolutions
By Kai Blackmon
By Kai Blackmon
Welcome to the new year! Hoot! Holler! Various other noises of excitement! Time for plenty of long parties, staying up until midnight, and people getting absolutely wasted on…root beer. Well, I guess that, as of publication, it is past New Year’s but, as of writing this, it is well before that date, so.... sucks for you, reader. It is safe to say that most people think of the new year as a good time to change oneself. Improving your life now that the ever-moving clock of life has ticked forward once more, you may find yourself with nothing to occupy your time apart from eating and watching television, especially if you are old. However, as we see in a large number of those who do take part in New Year’s resolutions, it is very hard to stick to these goals. No matter what is said, the majority of humanity will give up on their goals if not done correctly. Even better, most people even know why they so often fail.
Obviously, resolutions have reasons that they fail. Whether it is a wannabe gym bro saying he is going to work out every day, or it is a student with a couple of Cs swearing they are going to improve their grades in a week. “The problem here is that-” Yeah, yeah, yeah. They are being too vague. You may have said this thousands of times. To absolutely everyone. We all know it. We all fail at it. The thing is: everyone knows exactly why New Year's resolutions fail-- yet a good number of people still continue these failures. According to a study by IPSOS, a data supplier, 56% of those who planned on completing a New Year's resolution dropped out in under a year. It kind of defeats the entire point of making a change to your life. Unfortunately for everyone, we as humans simply don’t regularly get our lives together just by saying that it is what we want. I, not being a human and all, am perfect and I’ve always completed the resolutions that I make. This is because I’m much too lazy to write out what I want to improve about myself.
Photo be missbsresources - What y'all (including me) look like trying to fix your grades in a week.
Seriously, though, the biggest problem people run into is not believing they need specificity themselves. Listen, Kevin, the universe is not going to change its entire storyline simply to improve your ability to actually live a vegan lifestyle, which you have been meaning to switch to for so long. Get your own plan together, dude. In other words, specifically the words of Sydney E. Scott, a Ph.D. in Marketing and Psychology from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, “Many people believe flexible plans are less effective, but also more appealing (or less unpleasant), than rigid ones.” People don’t like being put into a rigid box, or at least most don’t. It is not my business what you weirdos who read these articles do in your spare time.
Photo by createdebate - This is what is happening inside your brain. Be afraid.
The biggest debate that those looking for a major change in life go through is whether or not to go based on following your brain/logic or your heart/emotions, according to the research paper done by Sydney E. Scott or Bo Burnham’s “Left Brain, Right Brain.” If you also watch absolutely horrible and yet great comedians like myself, then you will know that, by the end of that Burnham song, both sides of the brain have to join together in peace and harmony and all that fun jazz. When making plans for your resolution, it is very important to balance it with a strict schedule, but you should leave room for flexibility in the plan. Working with a strict schedule with no flexibility is about as fun as when you are in the middle of doing the dishes of your own volition and your parents tell you to take out the trash: you ain’t doing it anymore. Keep the freedom to choose your own path within a present plan. Trying to eat the correct amount of food each day? Make a list of what you want to eat in a day and check the nutritional value to judge whether you need to include more or less in the plan. Want to work out more often? Pick a specific area that you plan on working on and make a plan of what you will do to work out and what days you will do so. Or maybe look up an actual workout YouTube channel because I am not the right person to be giving you advice on this. I am a small theater child, so please don't take my advice too seriously, all of you buff people.
The truly sad thing about this world is that we actually have to put in effort when we want to make a change. My preference would be for some biblically accurate angel to come to me in a dream and grant me all the things I want, but that has yet to happen, sadly, so I guess I can just keep waiting. If you are one of the brave souls who is choosing to change themselves for the better, keep in mind that, if a tight box doesn’t help you complete your goal, then there is still room for a bit of flexibility. If your problem is too much flexibility, then get ready for some locks and bolts, buddy.
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