It is almost that time of the year again. 2017 is right around the corner and with that comes a new year of goals and expectations that you want to accomplish. There are some people who feel as though New Year’s resolutions are a let down and a waste of time while others swear by them.
The ritual of making resolutions for the new year actually runs as far back to ancient Babylonian times. The Babylonians would make promises like returning borrowed farm equipment and paying off debts in order to please their gods and start the year off with their favor.
New Year’s resolutions are a tradition that lasted for over 3000 years, but if you look at it today, many people make New Year’s resolutions, but don’t typically follow through with them. According to the University of Scranton, 75 percent of resolutions will be continued through out the first week of January but only 46 percent make it past six months. The study also found that 39 percent of people in their 20s will actually achieve their resolution during the year. That means over half of people in their 20s do not finish their resolutions before the year is up. I am in that 61 percent of people who do not finish their New Year’s resolutions.
At the beginning of 2016 I made myself two different resolutions. One of those was to get all A’s in my spring or fall semester and the other was to reach out more and make new friends. I can say that the all A’s part of my resolution has not come to pass, but I’m not going to let the year ending stop me from continuing that goal. Making new friends is never very easy for me but 2016 was not too bad of a year in that category. I managed to reach out and do new things like joining the Black Student Union here at Cabrini. With that came a plethora of new friends and connections. 2016 was a year where I also lost friendships, whether it was because of arguments or just simply growing apart, there are several people who I no longer call friends. So with all of the friends I have gained and lost this year, I’m not quite sure that counts as completing my New Year’s resolution because it evened out.
Even though I sort of failed my resolutions I know I am not the only one, I had to look at New Year’s resolutions differently. There is no rule saying that you have to go a year straight focused on particular goals. Who says that you have to wait until January to start or resume a resolution? Why not April or September? What I am trying to say is that some people give up when they fail their New Year resolution. Resolutions are about bettering yourself and you should not limit your growth to just 52 weeks. Do not give up, try it again the next week or the next month. It doesn’t even matter if it spills over into the next year.
Just set your mind to something and get it done. Do not be discouraged if you slip up some time during the year, all that matters is that you are making progress.
