Your Short-lived Resolution

Photo by CHRISTINA MORGERA

Amal Zeidan
Staff Writer

We’ve all done it before. Whether we’d like to admit it or not, most of us are guilty. Some people just can’t run away from it. It’s almost natural to fall into the trap of a new beginning. A starting point that comes every year, and every year a new promise arises followed by a three week halt. This standstill is of course due to lack of interest and/or desire followed by a list of excuses that will hopefully justify the laziness. The world has made a name for such behavior: New Year’s Resolution.

Many people are caught saying, “I’m going to finish what I started,” or “this year will be different,” but the only different aspect of a new year is the date. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a skeptic, I’m just going by the majority of what I see happening at the end of every January. It’s always the same story, “Well, I’m under a lot of stress,” or “Classes start soon and I can’t have any distractions,” or, one of my favorites, “It’s okay; I’ll do it next year.” It’s amazing how much will-power some individuals can have in December, and how quickly it fades in by the end of January. It’s almost depressing.

Purvika Khurana, a junior Nutrition major, says that people give in too easily. “In a while, they see how hard it is to manage and it doesn’t stay a priority.” She says lack of will-power and time management are huge deal breakers. Khurana mentions an idea to help. “Visual things attract me, so I make visual clues that I see often and it sticks.” She also says rewards for the little steps keep her motivated. Divya Mary James, a third year Biology major, believes that people who make a mental note of their resolutions in the beginning of the year tend to forget or allow it to fade. “If we keep thinking about our goals, we won’t forget them as easily as we do.” She also says that if the goal was a priority, “People would be aware of what they are doing.” James likes to make goals for the whole year and keeps her motivation up by writing her goals down and calling them “goals” instead of “resolutions.”

There seems to be a pattern in which resolutions fade away. They aren’t up close and personal like they should be. Here are a few ways to kindle your memory: write them on your fridge, have a post-it in the car, put little notes all over your house or dorm, write little notes for yourself in your notebooks, create a symbol which reminds you of your goal/s, and most importantly, never give up.

But we know how flawed mankind is and just how easy it is to backslide, which can only mean that we will mess up sometimes. The key to recovering from your weakness is to come back stronger than ever by admitting you messed up and not only how bad you want to overcome this goal, but the effort that you are willing to put in to get the maximum results out. This, if conscious and aware of your actions and environment, will help individuals a great deal when fighting for their resolutions.
Maybe we can all get back into the habit of not breaking our own rules. And with these helpful hints, we’re one step closer to completing our long lost New Year’s Resolutions.