New Years’ Resolution Woes

So, January is upon us again, the start to a promising new year where the majority of us have set ambitious goals and objectives in the form of New Year resolutions. The notion that a new year brings forth an opportunity to start afresh and relieve ourselves of all our negative traits is pretty rampant throughout society.

A large majority of the human population seems to have access to some sublime, ubiquitous genie that is compelled to grant us all our wishes and heart desires the moment the clock strikes 12 and we begin the New Year.

This satirical comparison between our resolves and the phenomenal cosmic powers of a genie from an oil lamp is given some substance by the dire results of a study carried out by psychologist Richard Weisman of the University of Bristol in 2007, which shows that nearly 80% of the general public who set New Year resolutions fail.

According to this study only 1 in 5 of Durham’s student population will be sticking to their plan of replacing 10 cigarettes a day with an early morning 5km run. Or instead of frivolously squandering away the entirety of their student loans on excessive amounts of alcohol and other guilty pleasures, actually begin to save so one can pay off that ever-growing overdraft which hangs over our heads like a big black cloud patiently waiting to pour down.

In the run up to the New Year I spoke to a few people about resolutions and received feedback such as: I want to find my dream job, be more outgoing and fret less, find Mr/Mrs. Right and numerous wishes (resolutions I mean) of a similar nature, because, In my opinion, resolutions simply equate to optimistic wishful thinking.

As human beings are we predisposed to perpetuate negative habits and vices which have become part of who we are and make up a large part of our personality and character? Maybe not being a fitness freak or smoking like a chimney is not necessarily a bad thing but actually a representation of who we are, after all no one is perfect right? And I thought we were all liked just the way we are? In the eyes of a pessimist (who is backed up by the stats), the New Year is simply a new start on old habits which die hard.

I’m sure top of Fernando Torres’s NY resolution’s list is for him to bag in 30 goals and win the golden boots accolade this year (beyond wishful thinking? Yeah I know). Charlie Sheen giving up his crack pipe, ‘angels’ and the ‘winning’ in exchange for a crucifix and a robe to become a catholic monk or Barack Obama and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad collaborating on a rap album to top Kanye West and Jay-Z’s Watch the throne (Watch the drone, maybe?) seems more realistic.

I’m all for improvement and change for the better, I just believe New Year resolutions are the worst way to go about it. Bad habits are hard to break; especially when we try to break them all at once. Will power, like our biceps, can only exert itself for so long before it eventually gives out.

Setting realistic daily and weekly goals will be much more effective in achieving our long term objectives. Our resolutions should be spread out across the whole year, targeting one task at a time as opposed to trying to change everything at once. As Oscar Wilde said ‘Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account’.