Three, two, one…HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Happy 2023 Needham High School! In the US, New Year’s Day is celebrated with many people spending their days off from school or work. While watching the ball drop, people share a sense of optimism going into the new year. Upon reflection on the past year, we often make goals for self-improvement. In 2020, the most popular resolutions were: lose weight, improve finances, exercise, get a new job, eat healthier, manage stress better, quit smoking, improve a relationship, stop procrastinating, and set aside time for yourself. At NHS, many resolutions for students include procrastinating less, maintaining a healthy sleep schedule, succeeding in a sports season, or improving their grades. An NHS student said their goals often surround “self-care and mental health.” Yet, when the clock strikes midnight what really changes?
The connotation of many New Year’s resolutions, rather than achievement, has become failure; 45% percent of Americans make resolutions, yet only 8% achieve them. Although, what draws the original 45% percent to make their resolutions in the first place? Something called the “fresh start effect.” People are motivated by time-related landmarks such as calendar dates (the first day of the week or month) or events that stand out from everyday life. New Year's is perceived as a fresh start for NHS students to evaluate their priorities. An NHS student recalls that besides New Year’s “they don’t make any other goals during the year.” Significant dates, such as New Year’s, increase a person's aspirations and motivation to achieve their goals due to a disassociation from their past imperfections or failures. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that the effectiveness of an individual to engage and increase their motivation to maintain a goal depends on the psychological importance of the landmark and the personal or cultural relevance. A deeper psychological landmark correlates with a more meaningful intention for a goal. The history of New Year’s builds the foundation for a significant association. New Year’s resolutions have origins in the ancient civilizations of Babylon and ancient Rome; citizens made promises and sacrifices to religious Gods in exchange for good favor and blessings the following year. Early Christians used the New Year to reflect upon past mistakes and resolve to do better in the future. Additionally, the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, kicks off a period of reflection upon one’s wrongdoing and both seeking and offering forgiveness. The Lunar New Year within Chinese culture is a celebration across the world that celebrates many traditions to rid the home of bad luck of the past year, welcome new luck and prosperity, honor past relatives, feast, and spend time with family. The cultural significance of the New Year within history and across cultures solidifies the significance of the event. The perceived importance and fresh start effect around New Year's sparks a deeper motivation for our resolutions today.
But New Year’s resolutions are easier said than done, as many of us know. While New Year’s resolutions seem like a great way to kick off the New Year, they often end up being forgotten or scrapped within the first month. An NHS student reported, “I’ve never really stuck to my resolutions; they were something that I thought about and then forgot to do.” Resolutions have even been satirized in today’s culture because of the known patterns of failure. For example, an NHS student describes their relationship with resolutions as constantly having to “fail and start again, so it just becomes a goal and loses the significance of a New Year’s resolution.” Yet, why do resolutions often fail? For one, we often approach our resolutions in a noncommittal way. For instance, let's say your resolution is to improve your Chemistry grade (we’ve all been there), but after the next test you don’t do well, so you give up because you’ve already broken your promise. This is called the “What the hell” effect. To put it into context, you abandoned your resolution of improving your Chemistry grade because you already broke your resolution once. However, allowing yourself grace and a bit of wiggle room to achieve your resolutions will actually help you reach them. Additionally, we often take on goals that are too large to achieve, especially based on previous knowledge of ourselves. Say your resolution is to study for the SAT five hours a week, yet, if this amount of time cannot be carved out of your pre-existing schedule in a realistic and convenient way, the likelihood of following through is slim. Failure to meet the high standard you set for yourself only produces feelings of guilt and self-doubt that end up restricting your future hopes to set goals and achieve them. An NHS student describes failing their resolution as a “blow to confidence and mindset for the new year.” These optimistic estimates are planning fallacies in which we subconsciously know these high estimates aren’t attainable in real life and haven’t been in the past. These failures create the well-known resolution to “not make a resolution.” It has been a month since January 1st, so we ask NHS, have you kept your resolutions?
Try not to be too discouraged, New Year's resolutions are effective if approached correctly. Instead of setting a general goal like going to bed earlier, try to be more specific. What time? Will this be every night or only on school nights? Being more specific with your resolutions will help you stick to your resolution. An NHS student with a goal to “not procrastinate” describes how this “never works because…it’s too general; I think I need to narrow down something, like a certain subject.” Goal setting becomes achievable if you’ve chosen a goal that’s concrete and bite-size. Starting with a smaller goal, like going to bed at 10 pm every Sunday night, will allow you to gradually work your way up to your resolution of going to bed at 10 pm every night. This applies to resolutions that require quitting something, too. Let’s say you want to try to drink less coffee. Instead of cutting out coffee altogether, try to first start by gradually decreasing the amount of coffee you drink per day. Cutting out a bad habit cold turkey rarely works, and you often end up going back to it shortly after. The shift from our current status quo to our idealized endpoint needs to be gradual, sustainable, and supported by a system of habitual behavior. To put it simply, our goals require patience and need to be realistic in order to work. As an NHS student reflected, “One year I made my resolution to never eat popcorn before the movie started and I achieved that, so I think it’s all about setting realistic goals.” Make sure your goal checks off these boxes, and then focus on how you’ll achieve it. NPR has created a website dedicated to helping people achieve their goals with resources for beginners. Feel free to check it out for some great inspiration!
So, Needham High, whether you’ve made a resolution or not, ask yourself how you can set yourself up for success when making goals. Goals are essential to challenge ourselves, provide a sense of focus in our lives, and develop lifelong habits that benefit our well-being. So even if you’ve given up on your resolution, don’t use the New Year as your starting line. Set a goal right now, and with a little faith (and realistic goal setting) you can do it!