It is nearly the time of the year where everyone celebrates a holiday, whether it be Christmas or Hanukkah, and once those holidays end, attention inevitably shifts to New Year’s resolutions and how to better the upcoming year.
The new year offers a blank slate, a chance to get things right. No matter what resolution you commit to, the goal is to improve your life and way of living in the new year.
“My New Year's resolution is to build time into my schedule to hang out with friends and make an active effort to make time for others because I value my friends and relationships,” NHS senior Marco D’Uva said.
A lot of people this year are inspired to self improve and set goals for themselves, although it is proven that if you don’t ease your way into your goals, you might find yourself failing more.When humans fail, it might impact our mental health in negative ways and can start a cycle of slipping back into old habits.
It’s also important to approach your resolutions in the right state of mind and in a manner that promotes good mental health and well-being.
“I don’t have a resolution yet, I haven’t thought of it,” NHS senior Lucia St. Lorenzo said.
Several students have reported that they also do not have a New Year’s resolution yet, since at the time of the interviews Christmas was still a few weeks away.
There are also a lot of New Year's resolutions about balancing work and personal life. Several students and faculty have stated that they would like to put up the boundary between the two worlds.
“My New Year's resolution is to not bring my work home as much,” NHS science teacher Alexander Pitetti said.
Surprisingly enough though, a lot of resolutions were about self image. How they look, how they dress, and how they act.
“My New Year's resolution is to get a better outfit because I look like a farmer/trucker,” NHS senior Sam Giuggio said.
The psychological factor of new years resolutions on how the fresh start effect creates these periods of time helps people to put past periods of “imperfections” behind them.
New year’s resolutions can be motivating for some people, but there are many reasons why people would choose not to make them, such as pressure and expectations. It can put pressure on an individual to change, leading to dress and feelings of failure if the expectations are not met.
It also can help motivate an aspirational point of view that makes it more likely to stick to these goals than ones that were made with no mental finish-line.
“Pick New Year’s resolutions that bring joy and reduce stress, such as adding an exercise routine, learning a new hobby, reconnecting with an old friend, or volunteering,” Psychology professor at Fresno State Dr. Martin Shapiro said.
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