The weeks before the New Year begins are marked with a common theme: deciding one’s New Year’s resolution. A New Year’s Resolution is where one creates a new goal or wants to change an aspect of their life in the upcoming year. Many of the resolutions prove to be very similar including working out more, eating healthy, or being a more positive person overall. Although the idea of this goal sounds good, many of the resolutions prove to be unrealistic. The motivation upon the first days of the New Year skyrockets and more and more faces are found in local gyms and smoothie shops. As the days go on, less and less similar faces are seen, until it gets to a point where it is just the regulars and the few who continued their resolution.

  However, if you are not one of the many who fall out on their New Year’s Resolution, it’s important to take steps and plan it out in order to keep it up throughout the year, and onward. You need to create a realistic goal. Instead of saying you are going to go the gym everyday for two hours, make it that you want to workout 4-5 days a week for at least an hour each. Or instead of eating healthy at every meal, cut out fast food instead. It is also important not to cheat. Taking breaks will cause motivation to die down, and for the death of the resolution in return. Keeping these few things in mind will turn an unrealistic resolution, into a much more doable realistic change in your life.

  This fallout of this phenomenon connects to the fact that the New Year should not signify a time where you should make an out-of-the-blue change in your life. Just because it is a new year or a new start does not mean that there is automatically a newfound motivation that will cause you to continue your goal. This goal should be put forth without the justification of the start of a new year.

  In the end, it is possible to follow a resolution, but for the most part, they are too difficult to follow. A better approach to a new life change would be to make a life-long goal and slowly continue to work towards it month after month, and year after year.