Did you make a New Year’s resolution for 2025? Well, if you make it to February with your goals, you are doing better than the 43% of Americans who already dropped their new year’s resolutions. ‘New year new me’ was a phrase coined to give people motivation to finally start what they have been putting off. While the new year is a great time to do this, many people end up failing because they are only following the trends, and not actually setting up a plan to go through with it.
“I had a new year’s goal last year but I definitely didn’t stick to it because I feel like it was something I said I was going to do but did not have a plan on how to accomplish it,” senior Torrin Heritage said.
The first step to creating a successful goal is to find something that you actually have the motivation to do. Goals that are only made to please other people often get dropped because they are not personally satisfying.
“My new year’s resolution is to read my bible every day, because it is something that I want to make a priority in my life,” Heritage said.
Choosing a goal that is applicable to your everyday life is important. A good thing to use when making your new years resolutions is the acronym, ‘SMART’. This stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. When people say goals such as, “I want to be rich in 2025”, it is so unspecific that nothing gets done about it. Instead, think of specific things you can do to budget your money better, or find new sources of income.
“I think if I made a plan to budget better and put my money straight into my savings account when I get paid, then I wouldn’t spend as much,” junior Avery Stineman said.
Goals also need to be measurable so that there is something to compare your growth to. There is no way to stay motivated if you cannot measure your progress.
Richard Batts at the Ohio State University wrote, “Goals that are measured will not only show your progress but will inspire you when you see the data. It also gives you a chance to celebrate small wins when you reach a milestone. Any celebration of a goal will help you continue pursuing the goal.”
While setting challenging goals is good, ensure that they are still attainable. Many people fail at completing their new year’s resolutions because they are just not realistic. Once they realize that they won’t accomplish it, they give up. According to the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University, only 9% of Americans make it to the end of the year with their new year’s resolutions. So, when planning out what you want to accomplish in 2025, follow the SMART goal planning process, and make sure you are part of that 9%.
