Making New Year's Resolutions
Bonni Carney
Issue date: 1/26/07 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 1
Five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year's! With a new year come new classes, new friends, and new resolutions. What happens to the old resolutions? Does anyone follow through with this age-old tradition?
New Year resolutions have been around since Roman times. It has been said that the mythical King Janus was a two-faced symbol because he was able to look back at the past and look ahead to the future. The idea of honoring the past and future is where the basis of New Year resolutions began.
Chinese culture partook in New Year resolutions in order to rid evil spirits and demons from their lives. They denounced past sins and bad habits, so they would have a clean slate for the new year.
Modern day resolutions tend to focus on health and prosperity. Many make resolutions such as losing weight, working out, or quitting smoking to improve their health. Other resolutions include saving money by cutting out coupons or eating out less often.
Making the resolution is supposed to be the easy part, however, following through seems to give people the most trouble. "Last year when I made my New Year's resolution I only stuck with it for a few months," says junior Steve Cishek.
Psychologists offer this advice for those making New Year resolutions:
-State the resolution as an action plan
-Find something that is of meaning to make the resolution about
-Back up the goal with a vision
-Put the plan in to action
-Write it down
-Find an accountability partner
Psychologists have found that making these resolutions into goals will allow more success. Most statistics show that only half of those who make resolutions are still keeping them after a few nights and that 20 percent of them reach their goals. Setting realistic resolutions also leads to a higher rate of success.
Even college students are making resolutions, whether they are academic, financial, or health related. What New Year resolutions are Carson Newman students making? Did they follow through with their resolutions from 2006?
"My New Year resolution is to go running every day, and only take off the weekends, says junior Ginny Ellis. Exercise is a very popular New Year resolution for female students at Carson Newman. "I want to work out more, and get toned for Spring Break," says freshman Carling Puckett.
Whatever the resolution, successful or not, it seems that this tradition will continue for a long time. People will always continue to set these new goals for themselves in hope that they will change some part of their life. Either way, the resolutions are always to make the new year a happy one.
New Year resolutions have been around since Roman times. It has been said that the mythical King Janus was a two-faced symbol because he was able to look back at the past and look ahead to the future. The idea of honoring the past and future is where the basis of New Year resolutions began.
Chinese culture partook in New Year resolutions in order to rid evil spirits and demons from their lives. They denounced past sins and bad habits, so they would have a clean slate for the new year.
Modern day resolutions tend to focus on health and prosperity. Many make resolutions such as losing weight, working out, or quitting smoking to improve their health. Other resolutions include saving money by cutting out coupons or eating out less often.
Making the resolution is supposed to be the easy part, however, following through seems to give people the most trouble. "Last year when I made my New Year's resolution I only stuck with it for a few months," says junior Steve Cishek.
Psychologists offer this advice for those making New Year resolutions:
-State the resolution as an action plan
-Find something that is of meaning to make the resolution about
-Back up the goal with a vision
-Put the plan in to action
-Write it down
-Find an accountability partner
Psychologists have found that making these resolutions into goals will allow more success. Most statistics show that only half of those who make resolutions are still keeping them after a few nights and that 20 percent of them reach their goals. Setting realistic resolutions also leads to a higher rate of success.
Even college students are making resolutions, whether they are academic, financial, or health related. What New Year resolutions are Carson Newman students making? Did they follow through with their resolutions from 2006?
"My New Year resolution is to go running every day, and only take off the weekends, says junior Ginny Ellis. Exercise is a very popular New Year resolution for female students at Carson Newman. "I want to work out more, and get toned for Spring Break," says freshman Carling Puckett.
Whatever the resolution, successful or not, it seems that this tradition will continue for a long time. People will always continue to set these new goals for themselves in hope that they will change some part of their life. Either way, the resolutions are always to make the new year a happy one.
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