With holiday festivities just around the corner, or already in progress for some, the big question of New Year's resolutions has greatly been in question, regardless of your religion and holiday practices.
Every year, just around Christmas, the big question as to whether or not New Year’s resolutions are meaningful arises. This leaves everyone in a panicked frenzy as they contemplate their most significant aspirations and dreams for the following year. Some people, though, are all about this! Throughout my schooling, teachers have always evoked thoughtfulness around the holidays by questioning students on what they plan to improve on within the next 365 days. Other people are not about using the first day of every year to initiate goals and progress, claiming that people are lazy and should not need a specific day to start improving, that it should be a matter of steady progress.
Honestly, this is all subjective. It is human nature to project into the future and to desire the “fresh start” that the holiday season and January 1st provide. My main issue with this debate is yes, I agree that people should set forth goals throughout the year in order to maintain steady growth, but in the same breath, who is to say that someone is a significantly poorer person for picking one day out of the year to start? To the people are likely to argue to just begin resolutions on a random, less traditional day, January 1st is, after all, just another ordinary day!
Despite this never-ending and inevitable discussion, there are facts that show an extremely low dedication to resolutions, even those who initiate them themselves. “Some estimates say more than 40% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions” says Dan Diamond of Forbes. In conjunction, “University of Scranton research suggests that just 8% of people achieve their New Year's goals.” Dan Diamond suggests that people should focus their goals around the word “tangible”, suggesting we focus on making our resolutions achievable and concrete.
With New Year’s just around the corner I think it is important to focus on the new year approaching, but keep in mind that you can only take each day as it comes. There’s always something for everyone around the holidays. If you decide to stick to a goal, stick to a goal. If you do not want to participate, don’t! Simple.
Citation: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2013/01/01/just-8-of-people-achieve-their-new-years-resolutions-heres-how-they-did-it/#bc057d304c79
Every year, just around Christmas, the big question as to whether or not New Year’s resolutions are meaningful arises. This leaves everyone in a panicked frenzy as they contemplate their most significant aspirations and dreams for the following year. Some people, though, are all about this! Throughout my schooling, teachers have always evoked thoughtfulness around the holidays by questioning students on what they plan to improve on within the next 365 days. Other people are not about using the first day of every year to initiate goals and progress, claiming that people are lazy and should not need a specific day to start improving, that it should be a matter of steady progress.
Honestly, this is all subjective. It is human nature to project into the future and to desire the “fresh start” that the holiday season and January 1st provide. My main issue with this debate is yes, I agree that people should set forth goals throughout the year in order to maintain steady growth, but in the same breath, who is to say that someone is a significantly poorer person for picking one day out of the year to start? To the people are likely to argue to just begin resolutions on a random, less traditional day, January 1st is, after all, just another ordinary day!
Despite this never-ending and inevitable discussion, there are facts that show an extremely low dedication to resolutions, even those who initiate them themselves. “Some estimates say more than 40% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions” says Dan Diamond of Forbes. In conjunction, “University of Scranton research suggests that just 8% of people achieve their New Year's goals.” Dan Diamond suggests that people should focus their goals around the word “tangible”, suggesting we focus on making our resolutions achievable and concrete.
With New Year’s just around the corner I think it is important to focus on the new year approaching, but keep in mind that you can only take each day as it comes. There’s always something for everyone around the holidays. If you decide to stick to a goal, stick to a goal. If you do not want to participate, don’t! Simple.
Citation: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2013/01/01/just-8-of-people-achieve-their-new-years-resolutions-heres-how-they-did-it/#bc057d304c79