About This Year's New Year's Resolution

One thing certain about life is that no matter what happens, there are always second chances. There is always the opportunity to make yourself better. With this in mind, the holiday's are just as much about self-reflection as they are celebration, and this idea of self-improvement is integral to the concept of the New Year's resolution.

Indeed, we can all improve ourselves in some way, and the eight dimensions of wellness is a great lens through which to approach our self-improvement and model our New Year's resolutions. A focus on physical wellness would encompass resolutions related to weight loss, blood pressure and sugar readings, or exercise programs. Likewise, focusing on intellectual wellness might include resolutions of going back to school or reading more. Resolutions related to emotional wellness include seeing a therapist, taking medication, or meditation regimens. And a focus on financial wellness may encompass saving or investing money. These are just four of the eight dimensions of wellness, but the social, occupational, spiritual and environmental categories of wellness can be manipulated similarly.

Nevertheless, having an idea as to how you want to improve yourself is just the beginning of creating a successful New Year's resolution as creating and implementing a New Year's resolution further requires the understanding that resolutions are goals and thereby must embody the five parts of the S-M-A-R-T acronym to be successful (Mind Tools, n.d.). Accordingly, a New Year's resolution as a goal must be "specific," meaning resolutions must be short and sweet and to the point (Mind Tools, n.d.). Additionally, goals must be "measurable" so that progress towards a goal might be quantified (Mind Tools, n.d.). Further, resolutions must be "achievable" to the extent that they are practical and "relevant" in that they are appropriate for you (Mind Tools, n.d.). Last, goals must be "time-bound" with an end date that gives you a time-period in which to focus and participate towards the measurable aspect of your goal (Mind Tools, n.d.). In terms of basic guidelines, don't make your resolution impossibly big, instead break it down into a series of smaller, more achievable goals, and try to make sure you are intrinsically motivated to pursue your resolutions (Vinney, 2024). You want to wake up every morning and be passionate about your resolution and keep working at it until you've found success.

There are also several fail-safes to employ to help you keep your New Year's resolution. At the top of this list is the concept of accountability as it refers to sharing your goals with others who might act as a coach and keep you "accountable" and enthusiastic towards the pursuit of your goal (Ohio State University, 2023; UC Davis Health, 2022). And finally, it is important to expect and plan for obstacles that might impede your progress toward a goal because life does not happen in a vacuum and neither does the pursuit of your goals (Ohio State University, 2023).