Serena Anagbe / Photo Editor
A New Year’s resolution typed on a laptop.
Out with the old and ringing in 2024, a new year and time again for New Year’s resolutions. While speaking with students and those who work with them, it has been said that students are in the majority of people who give up on their New Year’s resolutions the fastest or burn out trying to keep up with the resolutions they choose. Here are a few approaches you can take to help with choosing and keeping up with resolutions for 2024.
“I would suggest using SMART goals for any goal or resolution you may have. This stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound,” said Claire Howarth, Wilfrid Laurier University’s Wellness Education coordinator.
For example, a common resolution is working out or getting in shape. A way to make this fit into a busy student lifestyle might be to start with going to the YMCA once a week to join a workout class for two months before increasing the goal depending on how the two months went. It is important to make sure you don’t overwhelm yourself.
There are many ways people use to choose what their resolutions for the upcoming year will be. The most crucial part is choosing one that works for you.
“The minute I think of something that I would want to improve or bring me joy, I try to avoid waiting to start it in January,” said Mackenzie Lake, an off-campus first-year initiatives coordinator. She said she instead focuses on the goal of continuing the new habit in January.
It is important to understand that different approaches work for different people. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to resolutions, they are deeply personal.
Resolutions are supposed to be for the whole year, not just January. The goals you set for the new year do not have to be accomplished within the first month.
“You know the saying, ‘Don’t bite off more than you can chew’? When I made my New Year’s resolutions before, I would be overconfident that I would be able to do it all in one go on January 1st instead of easing myself into a routine,” said Milena Rios, a third-year social work student.
Some goals can be smaller ones that evolve and change as the year continues. People change all the time.
“I ended up changing and so my goal changed,” said Lake when talking about why she hasn’t kept the same resolutions all year in the past. Many of us are not the same person that we were at the beginning of the year.
When choosing a New Year’s resolution for 2024, some of this advice might make you give it an extra thought and help make sure your goals will be helpful in the long run.
