A few weeks ago, my friend was complaining about a massive influx of people at the gym. He was lamenting over these new people at the gym because they only started appearing after the beginning of the new year. He labels them as “Jury Members” since they are only at the gym for a trial period and then don’t come back until their next yearly jury duty. These so-called “Jury Members” are all here because of the historic tradition of the New Year’s resolution.

The New Year’s resolution originates from many religious traditions where people would promise their deities that they would pay off a debt or return an object by the end of the year. This tradition then evolved into a promise to make a personal change for the better by the end of a year. Today, the tradition has become a meme, ironically titled, “New Year New Me.”  

The New Year’s resolution has changed from being a way to motivate yourself to be a better version of yourself into a meme of lack of change during a new year. But why is it so difficult for a person to change or to stick to their New Year’s resolution?

The reason lies in the length of time. A New Year’s resolution is a goal people set for themselves for a whole year, but thinking of doing something for a whole year is daunting. As a result, people don’t feel committed since the idea of doing a task they don’t find extremely appealing for 365 days in a row seems impossible.

The most common resolution, exercising more, fits this definition because after a week of working hard and going to the gym you get sore, and going to the gym for the next 12 months doesn’t seem like such an appealing task.

The better version of the New Year’s resolution is nothing. A change in behavior shouldn’t be something that is spurred by the coming of a new year, but by the desire to achieve a goal. Having an actual reason why you want to achieve this goal will be a stronger motivator than a new year passing by.

A person who trains because they want to run in a marathon will be more likely to stay committed to their exercise routine than a person exercising because it’s 2018.

Brian is a junior in Engineering.

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