Make realistic goals, not resolutions this New Year

Last year, my New Year’s resolution was to cut back on my social media usage. I failed. As soon as the semester began and my professors started droning on, I was back scrolling through Facebook feeds and Instagram photos while my resolution fell to the misdirected wayside like many others before it.

If New Year’s Eve is synonymous with lights and glitter and champagne, New Years Day is the homely stepsister wearing new workout gear and carrying fresh produce ready to be meal-prepped.

By the time the sparkles of New Year’s celebrations fade and January stretches into February, most people are already exhausted of trying and failing to keep their newly formed resolutions to be happier and healthier. What we should be doing this year instead is making realistic goals that are attainable and practical.

A 2016 study from the University of Scranton found that only 8 percent of Americans successfully complete their resolutions. Often, New Year’s resolutions are vague and lack a specific deadline, making it difficult for people to keep their resolution without direction or validation. The research is clear — setting practical goals with realistic expectations will make it easier and more likely for you to achieve those goals.

For students, resolutions are usually similar and predictable: get good grades, be healthier, relax more and be more efficient. All of these resolutions are achievable and are made much easier when we set long- and short-term goals with realistic expectations for ourselves.

Better grades is a common goal for many students — after all, it’s kind of the point of college — but the criteria for a good grade varies from person to person and from subject to subject.

Some students think a C would be fine as long as they pass the class, while others won’t settle for anything less than an A.

If you’ve never taken a college-level science course before, you might be stretching to expect a grade comparable to what you got in high school-level courses. If you just want to pass your literature class, then make sure you know the minimum of what you need, and accomplish that minimum amount of work.

Perhaps inspired by the spring breaks to come, another well intentioned resolution of many students is getting fit.  

Resolutions about being healthier usually include the two basic ingredients: working out and eating right. An overhaul of your diet is a drastic change to make in the New Year. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says that not only is gradual weight loss healthier, it also increases the likelihood of keeping weight off.

If the goal is to go vegan or cut out carbs, start small and work your way toward it. Likewise, if you’ve never been to the gym at the Petersen Events Center before, maybe don’t make it your resolution to go every day this semester. Try it two or three times a week, and then adjust from there, depending on the results you’re getting and your schedule. Transitioning slowly, instead of putting in a couple of hard workouts one week or majorly changing your diet only to give it up later, will be more of a lifestyle change in the long run. A slower change increases the probability of retaining new behavior.

One goal that’s probably not on your resolution list, but should be, is reducing the time you spend on your phone and on social media. It can be a big time waster, an easy distraction from your work, friends and life and can even increase your likelihood for becoming depressed.

All that time you spend scrolling on Facebook can have a direct — and negative — correlation to your GPA. To be more present and focused, cut back on the time spent mindlessly surfing Facebook and Instagram and instead designate a specific amount of time each day to update yourself on the daily happenings of the world. The key word here is “reduce” and not “eliminate,” because the goal is to get more of your time and focus back, not to cut off all contact with the world.

Although the beginning of a new year is the prime time for people to make resolutions, a goal can be set any time during the year and renewed and updated at any time, too. Creating important goals with realistic expectations can foster long-lasting habits and improve your quality of life.

Before you know it, it will be Dec. 31 once again, and you’ll have forgotten about last year’s lengthy list of lifestyle changes. This year, aim for concrete goals, not just for fleeting resolutions.