Resolve all year, not just now

It’s a new year once again, and a time for people around the world to sit down and think about what they lack in life. New Year’s resolutions seem to be a part of life for many, marking their sudden spark of motivation and the desire to make empty promises to supposedly fill that hole in their empty hearts.

Pledging to lose 100 pounds, marry rich, make twice your salary, love your roommate, or establish world peace are examples of some of those empty promises that are too wide in scope. The people who actually attain these goals in the time span of a year deserve a round of applause (and perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize) because these goals are just as unrealistic as the idea of New Year’s resolutions themselves.

Even realistic resolutions can be difficult to keep. If you pledge to go to the gym every day, improve relationships or eat less chocolate, it is likely you will revert back to your old habits because it’s something you’ve grown used to doing and probably not worth giving up for a “mandatory” resolution.

It’s pointless to wait for a new year to improve your life. New Year’s resolutions are doomed to failure because of the lack of motivation after the month of January (or even Jan. 2 for some), and they hurt self-esteem as a result of that failure, reversing the whole positive aspect of resolutions in the first place. The desire for self-improvement should not be marked by the obligation of making goals once a year, but rather it should be evident year-round.

A new year does not necessarily mark a new beginning or a clean slate. It’s often difficult to remember that the theoretical “year” before was just a day ago come Jan. 1. I’ve seen numerous Facebook statuses of my UCLA peers reading to the effect of “New year, new me. It’s time for a change.” What happens when that clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve? Tainted ideas of changed personas come about.

Habits are hard “‘ both hard to make and hard to break. You can’t change the past with just a few promises.

First-year physiological science major Kimberly Pablo mocked the idea of New Year’s resolutions.

“As a New Year’s resolution, I thought about cutting down on calories and sought to lose weight. However, according to Jay Leno, I have nothing to worry about: “˜Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average …’ So I’ve pretty much met my goal,” Pablo said.

The popularity of New Year’s resolutions seems to be a must-follow trend among many, especially with all the media attention. Articles about “Top Ten Resolutions” and “Celebrity Resolutions” have become the internet’s top searches around this time of year.

People who are desperate to mimic their favorite celebrity’s resolution for the first week of January, realize their goal is pointless, and stop caring after Jan. 8. It’s almost safe to label this as the first-week-of-the-year-awakening, rather than a New Year’s resolution.

Making a goal because you have to make a goal will not get you anywhere. If there is no realistic desire, there will be no end result. Take the idea of procrastination. If you waited until a few hours before your final exam to study, the chances of you performing well are slim to none (unless you get lucky or are one of those gifted geniuses). Failing an exam because you waited until the last minute to study is not the most effective way of achieving your goal: getting an A in the class.

Thus, if you wait until Jan. 1 to change your ways, the chances you’ll actually attain your goals are slim as well.

Let’s say you suddenly pledge to run a marathon. Because you are not used to this amount of running and have been never been trained, you will be unable to run effectively and complete the marathon, causing you to feel discouraged and thus failing to keep your promise. Procrastination is a result of laziness, which is a result of a lack of desire, which will get you nowhere.

New Year’s resolutions can even cause negative consequence to one’s emotional state because human beings are not inclined to respond well to failure. Medical anthropologist and physician Paul Farmer says “We chastise ourselves for our perceived shortcomings and set unrealistic goals to change our behavior, so it’s not surprising that when we fail to keep resolutions, we end up feeling worse than when we started.”

Sure, it’s better to try and fail than not to try at all, but the most realistic way of attaining one’s goals is without the unrealistic labels. Self-improvements can be made year-round, so don’t wait until the new year to start acting upon it. Attaining goals are very possible. Steps can be taken to improve aspects of your life ““ little steps that won’t be forgotten after the first week of January.

E-mail Ghoogassian at cghoogassian@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.

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