The common tradition of New Year resolutions often results in more harm than good for students who participate.
Setting attainable goals at the start of the new year has become a common modern American pastime. In fact, according to a CBS News survey conducted this time last year, 43% of Americans said they planned on making resolutions for 2021.
This number stands in stark contrast, however, to the mere 29% of Americans who reported making resolutions for 2022. What factors caused such a drastic decrease in this annual practice?
According to Psychology Today contributor Bence Nanay, Ph.D., the strong desire associated with New Year resolutions tends to impair demanding task performance rather than improve it.
“So we put a huge pressure on ourselves with these New Year’s resolutions,” Nanay said. “And this pressure makes failure more likely.”
Nanay is not the only one unsure of the effectiveness of new year goal-setting. In a 1998 study conducted by the University of Scranton, it was found that only 19% of its 200 participants maintained their oaths to the end of the year. Increased internal pressure to complete high-desire tasks resulted in participants choosing to avoid the tasks altogether.
This is often the dilemma resolution-makers face as they attempt to commit throughout the year.
According to a 2021 Statista study of American New Year resolution habits, “These resolutions are not compulsive… They are more like a signal for a new start than an actual catalyst for change.”
Rather than accomplish their intended objective, all these goalposts do is resign their creator to a year of not feeling good enough. Feelings of inadequacy are increased in those who participate in New Year’s resolutions and are exacerbated by social media.
As noted by New York Times contributor Spencer Bokat-Lindell, social media often warps individuals’ perception of their success through cutthroat comparison, making resolutions more harmful than beneficial.
The impact of COVID-19 also contributes to why New Year goals for 2022 should be avoided. Resolutions are often very generalized and long-term and fail to account for life-changing events (like pandemics) interrupting plans, according to The Atlantic.
This phenomenon leaves many feeling drained or unsatisfied by putting their goals into action, as they fail to consider the bigger picture and instead focus on short-term gains.
Many college students also tend to agree that resolutions are pointless, with many sharing their dissatisfaction in a Wall Street Journal study that simply asked them the question: what are your New Year resolutions? While some detailed their desire to quit dating apps or get in shape, a surprising majority resolved to not hold themselves to any standards, noting that they often lead to “disregard[ing] little moments in life that might truly lead to positive change.”
As the world navigates COVID-19, resolutions can act as a nice distraction. It is evident now more than ever that they enact more harm than good.
