January first marks the beginning of a New Year, and for many, this means new resolutions. Some students, however, notice that traditional goals often fall apart due to shifting priorities and schedule changes, causing them to invest in more flexible and manageable goals.
Science teacher Carissa Fabia chooses not to set goals for the New Year, knowing that past goals have failed due to the lack of readiness to follow through.
“I actually don’t make (New Year’s) goals. I always broke them or did not achieve my goals whenever I set them for New Year, so I stopped doing that,” Fabia said. “Then I realized later on that I think what worked for me is setting goals whenever I feel like I’m ready to fulfill that goal.”
Sophomore Silas Dubin agrees that New Year’s goals may not always be effective, as resolutions should be spread throughout the year rather than loading up one’s schedule with goals at just the beginning of the year.
“I do think it can be important to make goals in the new year, but I’m personally not too big of a fan of New Year’s resolutions because it’s making resolutions at one time in the year when I feel like it might be more of an improvement to have them spread throughout the year,” Dubin said.
Senior Maliyah Vargas has noticed that oftentimes, she does not achieve her New Year’s goals because her priorities change throughout the year, causing her goal to no longer fit her schedule.
“I usually am successful up until March, and then I start to go off from them. I think I get more busy and more caught up with trying to have fun, especially with the weather getting warmer,” Vargas said.
Dubin mentioned that people may not continue their resolutions or achieve them because it is difficult to gauge how busy their lives could get in the future. He believes that it is important to consider these factors when making New Year’s resolutions.
“I think they (people) usually don’t account for things they might not see coming,” Dubin said. “Because no matter what, in the year, you’re not going to know exactly what’s happening in your schedule or with events or projects, so it’s good to take that into account when you’re planning out your goals.”
Along with the change in the importance of activities, junior Sierra Sato shared that sometimes she does not achieve what she wants to because of procrastination.
“I think as the year starts, you feel like it’s still the beginning of the year and you still have time. Then gradually, I forget about it over time because I don’t do anything about it,” Sato said.
Although Sato has procrastinated in the past, she made changes this year to ensure she sticks with her goal of attaining her running full, which is a cheer skill.
“This year, I’m trying to keep it up because I already started scheduling classes and stuff. I’ve made smaller goals, so by the end of the10 classes, I want to have the half,” Sato said.
Dubin finds he is successful when he has friends who help him work through goals together.
“One strategy that’s very helpful is to have my friends hold me accountable to the goal because it’s good to have that support for my friends,” Dubin said. “Also, if they’re doing a similar goal to me, they can kind of push me through it along the way.”
Aside from the difficulties of achieving goals, Sato feels that setting goals for oneself is valuable to a healthy lifestyle.
“I think it’s important to keep you going and to keep something in your life that’s driving you,” Sato said.