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13 views

Magazine

relativity of sun

Uploaded by

quanganh300809
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Are New Year’s Resolutions a Waste of Time?

By Quang Anh NGUYEN 11V

Many of us get a jolt of excitement and inspiration for the new year: “New
year, new me”. It is a chance to improve yourself, a chance at a clean slate.
Yet most of us fail before the first month of the year is over. In fact, 88% of
people who’d set up resolutions failed their goals in just two weeks of the
year. So, are New Year’s resolutions a waste of time? Why should we as
students care? And how do we make sure we succeed in keeping our
promises?

Are they a waste of time? Why should we care?

Are New Year’s resolutions a waste of time? Definitely no, if you have the
right strategy and the right mindset. A lot of people believe that New Year’s
resolutions are a waste of time because of the low success rate and the
unrealistic expectations. They set goals that feel like chores, rather than a
positive goal exercise. Failing them leads to feelings of inadequacy and so
they don’t do it in the first place to avoid these problems. Or simply, they
just couldn’t give a damn like I’m sure would be the case for a lot of young
readers. However, with a growth mindset and the right strategies, these
goals can offer great values and give us the satisfaction of progress, values
like discipline, reflection, honesty, and productivity. The feeling of discipline
and progress is one of the most satisfying feelings: it is arguably the best
form of self-love. These goals could be applied to any area like academics,
sports, and life. So as students, we shouldn’t think that New Year’s
resolutions are a waste of time because we’re too young to need these goals,
we should think of it as a positive exercise, and it is always best to start
early.
Why do most fail and how do we succeed?

88% of people failed their New Year’s resolution in the first 2 weeks. It is
clear that keeping up with these promises is not easy. But why do they fail?
The first problem is in their system. Most people rely on outbursts of
motivation and inspiration which is unsustainable. “You do not rise to the
level of your goals; you fall to the level of your system.” – James Clear,
Author of Atomic Habits. The second problem is that people think that to
make big changes in our lives, we need to put in big efforts. The issue is
being too ambitious and not being able to commit to them. The third problem
is that most of us suck at creating goals — our goals are too unrealistic to be
sustainable and they are too vague. For example: losing weight, getting fit,
getting better at basketball, getting As, and not failing math are all bad
goals.

To fix this, set goals that are SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Results-focused, and Time-bound. Rather than “read more books”, try “read
one non-fiction book every 2 weeks by spending 30 minutes each night
reading”. You could also focus on a keystone habit that results in a domino
effect aligning multiple other areas in your life. This could be going to the
gym 5-6 days a week. Being consistent with this would improve strength,
muscle gain, cardiovascular fitness, and postural improvement. More
importantly, small changes are more likely than dramatic shifts to result in
the outcome you desire. What this means is that rather than changing a
habit all of a sudden, do it slowly so that you can commit to it long-term.
Think about getting just 1% better every day. That small, atomic 1%, will
compound over time to give outstanding results. To start off, you could try to
pick something that you can do in 2 minutes. Maybe write in a journal for 2
minutes a day and gradually increase the time each day. To help bring
accountability and track your progress, you should write down with pen and
paper your goals. A lot of people think it is about willpower and resisting
temptation. However, willpower is finite and will eventually cause you to
relapse. To fix this, structure your environment to make better choices. This
could be hiding that bag of sweets, setting a nice reading environment, or
hiding that phone when working on an assignment.
I’d like to leave this article on a small note: if you’re passionate about
setting new goals of self-improvement, don’t just pick an arbitrary date to
start implementing these goals like one New Year’s Eve. Start now. The best
time to start is the present.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is
now”

- Chinese Proverb

A lot of the ideas in this article are taken from popular books: “Atomic
Habits” by James Clear, and “The Power of Habits” by Charles Duhigg so if
you want further readings, try these books.

Plan:

Great way to achieve a goal

But most fails by March so it could be a waste of time

But could be successful if you know how to properly do it

Why new year resolutions fail:

1) Problem is our system


- Relying on bursts of motivation and inspiration
- You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your
system
2) People think that in order to make big changes in our life, we need to
put in big efforts
- Being over ambitious and not being able to commit to them
3) Our goals are too vague (lose weight, exercise more, eat better)
Most of us suck at creating goals

We place goals to far and too unrealistic to be sustainable


4) Thinks its about willpower, motivation and resisting temptation
- Willpower is finite and wont last(relpase)
- Not

Succeeding them:

- S -specific
- M – measurable
- A – Achievable
- R – results focused
- T- time bound
1) Small changes are more likely than dramatic shifts to result in the
outcome you desire
- 1% better everyday
- Pick something you can do in 2 minutes
2) Focus on keystone habits
3) Write down your goals
4) Track our progress
5) Structure your environment to make better choices

OR

Don’t pick an arbitrary date to start. The best time to start changing is now

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