By Isabella Montenegro
Opinion Editor
As society takes the time to celebrate the new year in January, many people create New Year’s resolutions and, by making these goals, it inspires others to change one’s future for the better. The start of the new year is an opportunity to leave the past in the past and make new changes
to one’s life, free of regrets. New Year’s resolutions are valuable to create at the beginning of the year, as they allow people to cultivate the best version of themselves.
According to History.com, New Year’s resolutions have been around since the ancient Babylonians, some 4,000 years ago. The Babylonians held a 12-day festival where there was promises being made to the gods to pay debts and return any objects that had been borrowed.
Since then, people take time each winter to ponder what they want to improve on in their lives, which may likely include popular activities like exercising, mending relationships, and being more productive, according to Psychology Today.
Each year, making New Year’s resolutions helps people clear their mental slate to better prepare for change. According to BBC.com, Katy Milkman, a psychology professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the author of the book “How to Change,”states that when one feels like there is a division of time, the mind gets the impression that it is prime time for a fresh start. With fresh starts, it can be easier to let go of regrets and past mistakes, making people more likely to achieve goals that they may feel are daunting or prone to failure.
Creating resolutions for the new year is a positive and constructive action as it pushes people to reach their ideal state through individual growth and wise goal-making. According to Dr. GlenderMiller, bettering ourselves for the new year can create healthy and positive personal challenges.By creating well-conceived and achievable resolutions that are within the capabilities of the resolution-maker, one can open up opportunities of exploring one’s potential and continue to grow as an individual.
New Year’s resolutions are even useful to others when they are simply in the presence of resolution-makers. When people are striving to achieve their personal goals, it can inspire others to keep on their own journey to achieve what they want. According to Forbes, experiencing the behavior of others is a primary way people learn. Therefore, positive resolutions created by others can create incentives for others to achieve their resolutions.
It can be said that many who set resolutions for the New Year fail to achieve them, thus making the setting of resolutions useless and disappointing. While this may be true in some cases, if one is taught a proper way of setting the right goals effectively, the chances of achieving these goals will become higher. In life, when one’s goals do not materialize, it can be difficult to deal
with. However, by setting goals that one has a genuine passion for reaching, resolutions can be highly beneficial, especially when people do not pressure themselves to an unhealthy extent to achieve them. According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, goal setting
can be done in an educated manner to get the most realistic goals for one. It is recommended that people making goals should use the SMART acronym, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely goals.
By and large, New Year’s resolutions are a good tradition to keep around. Making resolutions gives one the opportunity to start anew each year with a positive attitude. By knowing how to set realistic resolutions, more people will be able to achieve hopes that they may not be able to achieve otherwise.
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