It’s a new year and that means that everyone has a new year’s resolution. However, studies indicate that most people fail to make it past two weeks into the year while continuing to make progress towards their resolutions. The second Friday of January, also known as Quitter’s day, passed by not too long ago, and it is important to now go through some of the steps people can take to keep steady progress on their new year’s resolutions.
Before exploring ways to conquer your resolutions- let’s first find out the resolutions Bears made for this new year!
Starting out, Ellie Smedes, a Tahoma High School senior, responded, “My new year’s resolution is to be more mysterious because I feel like I overshare a lot.” Some may think that this is an extremely specific goal, but this is a great strategy to use for resolutions. UC Davis Health states that the broader the resolution, the more chances you have of dropping them, so choosing one as specific as this is a great start.
Following on, Molly Dagonese stated, “I want to start new hobbies, like making leather wallets.” Again, off to a great start, something specific, and creative! Picking up new hobbies is an amazing new year’s resolution, however many people will find it difficult to keep up with new hobbies and the learning curve and time it takes to become good at something. UC Davis Health advises that the best way to pick up new habits and hobbies takes time, 66 days to be exact, so the key is to not get frustrated and keep working towards that goal. Every day, every week, little by little, make progress and don’t overdo it so you get frustrated, keep working on the craft so you find more appreciation for it, the goal is to fall in love with the new hobby, not to make it a challenge for yourself.
Inquiring even further, we asked more students about their resolutions. Jacob Santos, a senior at Tahoma High School, deliberated, “My resolution is to not get comfortable and start slacking off at anything, with school, the gym, or anything else.” These resolutions are the toughest and tend to be the ones that burnout people. The main reason why people find these resolutions hard is because they’re too tough on themselves.
Forbes states that it is important to be graceful to yourself. Their methods involve practicing empathy to others and yourself, rewarding yourself when you think you are meeting your goals, and lastly partnering with others to split the weight of responsibility on your shoulders. Be kind to yourself, that is the main way to progress, if such a resolution starts to get tiring, it is of no use, so allow yourself grace, take break days, and listen to yourself when it is reasonable to slack off. All these tactics combine to make a great mentality that will certainly ease any tensions and stress throughout the process, and result in a much healthier relationship with you and your goals for the year.
After interviewing many Tahoma Bears, it can be concluded that there were some interesting and niche resolutions made this year. Hopefully, some of the tactics discussed in the article can be of use to others reading as well, and most importantly, don’t be part of the majority that stops on the second Friday of January. Make a promise to yourself to keep your resolutions until the end of this year, and don’t be harsh on yourself, make steady progress, and stop when
