New Year’s resolutions can be an opportunity for Oklahoma Christian University students to better themselves for 2016.
“I feel that resolutions are important for everyone,” senior Philip Kingsley said. “To make a conscious decision to improve oneself in the following year either spiritually, intellectually or physically is admirable if one makes an effort to stay true to that decision.”
According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, 75 percent of people in 2015 maintained their resolution through the first week of January and then quit.
“People make this huge list of resolutions,” English Professor Nathan Shank said. “Sometimes it is this huge unattainable list. I think it is better to just focus on something for a whole year and really get that one thing integrated into who you are.”
Change in one’s routine can cause some degree of emotional friction that leads to stress, which can lead to failure to keep resolutions, according to U.S. News.
“Resolutions are never a bad thing,” Shank said. “It is hard to say you should not make New Year’s resolutions but if they do become anxiety for you, then they are just going to cause more harm than good.”
Senior Rachael McGowan said she believes New Year’s resolutions are a way for people to ‘start over’ for the New Year and develop positive habits.
“I really like resolutions because it is nice to have a new beginning,” McGowan said. “It is nice to start fresh and set new goals for yourself and to better yourself. It is like a restart button for everyone.”
Oklahoma Christian University students have many different resources at their disposal for keeping true to their New Year’s resolutions: the library’s research help and writing center, TeamOC’s various fitness weekly classes and different departmental tutoring.
These outlets are available to students in order to help them develop habits that may lead them to succeed, according to Shank.
“Resolutions are good at developing habits,” Shank said. “If you can develop a habit, that is really powerful.”
Kingsley said he usually makes resolutions, but this year he did not because he ends up not fulfilling some of his goals.
“I find it frustrating when people proclaim to the world what they are going to do, but never follow through,” Kingsley said. “For example, when I would go to the gym the first week of January, it would be packed full. Give it a couple weeks and the numbers thin out by a lot.”
People may also not make resolutions because they do not have the habits necessary to continually keep up with their resolutions.
“I think resolutions are for those people that have good habits already,” Shank said. “If you are able to keep a resolution, it is probably because you already have this internal habit that you respond to that kind of repeated reinforcement.”
Kingsley said he believes that if people want to maintain the habit of their resolution, they should follow through with their decision to make the resolution.
“I think people desire to enact change and growth,” Kingsley said. “The action is not always there to follow that desire.”
According to Neilson, health and wellness are top priorities for Americans, with 37 percent of people making a resolution to stay fit in 2015. .Senior Sheldon Yeakley said he has made a resolution to eat healthier and kept his resolution so far.
“It is commendable within our society that resolutions are a big deal,” Kingsley said. “People truly desire to improve themselves, sometimes not for the most noble of causes, but to personally improve nevertheless.”
While New Year’s resolutions seem to be what majority of people focus on, people can also choose to commit to different resolutions the rest of the year and still make an impact on their lives, according to McGowan.
“I think if you do not make a resolution in January, you can always find ways to improve,” McGowan said. “If that means you figure out something needs to change, and it is June, go for it. Do not make the excuses and put it off just because it is the middle of the year.”
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