NYLA HARRIS / ASST. A&C EDITOR

As 2024 approaches, there comes the desire for many to enter the fresh year with new goals, a new mindset and new resolutions. The typical ‘New Year’s resolution’ is a tradition in which a person resolves to change a bad habit, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise generally better themselves at the beginning of the calendar year.

Maintaining these resolutions is based on a combination of personal discipline, self-control, motivation and incentive. USD senior Tessa Daroza creates New Year’s resolutions annually and discusses the effect incentive has on her completing her goals.

“My dad makes me make them [New Year’s resolutions] every single year. I have to set at least 10 realistic, attainable goals that can be in any aspect of my life, like school, creatively, career, lifestyle and so on,” Daroza said. “My dad thinks setting goals is super important, and that it will help to motivate me. He gives me $20 for every goal I complete, so I really do try to complete them all, and usually do.”

However, as much as incentive plays a role in success, the tendency of people to make these resolutions can be just as common as failing to keep them. In a research study surveying 3,000 people completed by the University of Bristol, 88% of those who set New Year’s resolutions did not follow through with them, even though 52% of the participants were confident of their success at the beginning. 

USD senior and former Feature Editor at The USD Vista Haley Jacob relies on structured goal setting to maintain her academic standing. However, she discusses the pitfall of New Year’s resolutions not coming to fruition and expresses her reasons for not partaking in them.  

“Throughout the year I’m always trying to be better and push myself in different ways. But honestly, I feel like whenever I put too much pressure to make a big goal, which is what New Year’s resolutions can feel like, I don’t accomplish them, because I get stressed,” Jacob said. “Sometimes putting too much pressure on the label of  ‘New Year’s resolution’ and not achieving them immediately can seem like a bad way to start the year, so throughout the year I always try to check on points of my social, personal and academic aspects of my life that I could be improving on.”

In a Forbes article, researchers found that it was necessary to have self-control to achieve these long-standing goals, but it must also be accompanied with deliberate action, prioritization and tolerance for  discomfort. One highly discussed suggestion is to link the new “trait” or desired “attribute,” to a new habit or lifestyle that can be implemented into daily tasks.

USD junior Aren Kotoyan studied abroad in Madrid, Spain during the Spring semester 2023, and wanted to create a New Year’s resolution in correspondence to his drastic change in lifestyle of living in another country. 

“As an international business major studying in Madrid, I really wanted to get better at Spanish. So, when I was there, I tried fully immersing myself in the language,” Kotoyan said. “It was sick, because I ended up getting pretty good at it. Now I actually want to live there [Madrid, Spain], so carrying that out is going to be one of my future New Year’s resolutions.”

When making these New Year’s resolutions, keeping the big picture in mind can make a difference in whether one keeps the promise they made to themselves or not. So, it’s recommended to do a little bit everyday toward the goals you’re setting and to reward yourself for any steps you are taking toward your longer-term vision. Through the discomfort of these daily habit changes can 

come resilience and growth, giving strength and motivation to set new, bigger goals. One thing can lead to another and who knows, by next year, you really could be a new you.

Set realistic goals that will help better your future in the coming year.Photo courtesy of @bellaalins/Instagram