RESOLUTIONS
Goals for Ourselves in the New Year
It’s that time of the year again where we look back on the events of the past twelve months and make promises for the next. There’s no doubt that 2020 has been eventful and has brought about unimaginable surprises.
The past year has taught us a lot – whether it’s about our family’s unusual living habits from being in quarantine together or checking if you’ve accidentally left your microphone on after your video calls. People around the world have had to learn to be with themselves and, in most instances, have had more time to reflect on their lives.
Every New Years, people from countries all over the world take time to set New Year’s resolutions for themselves. A resolution is a promise that individuals make to do or stop doing something as a personal goal, often to improve themselves. This year’s no different and with the time we’ve spent alone with ourselves this year, I’m sure many of us have a few changes in mind for the next year.
As silly as it may sound to wait until New Year to make goals and start new habits, this tradition of making resolutions at the start of the year has been around since the ancient Babylonians and the Romans. Nowadays, resolutions are often secular and come in many forms. Your resolution can be something that seems as simple as spending less money on Tokopedia or reducing those latenight GoFood orders, but they’re generally set to improve one’s self and life in the upcoming year.
As great as setting personal goals are, we all have that one relative who claims that they’ll stop smoking at the start of every year; it’s no surprise that very few people follow through on their New Year’s resolutions. According to a 2019 study by YouGov, as little as approximately 4 percent of American adults stick to the goals they set.
Though some may say that this statistic is out of laziness, experts have made it clear that the way goals are set contributes to their effectiveness. A lot of us are guilty of making goals that might be unrealistic and so quickly become overwhelming. According to experts, the key to setting realistic, achievable goals is to break it down into small steps.
There are many other ways to make your goals more achievable once you’ve set a realistic aim with a tangible course of action. Something as simple as sharing your goals with your friends and family can help motivate you because you have external support from others. If you’re like me, a reward system might be something worth trying out.
Ultimately, though they have reigned for over 4,000 years of history, New Year’s resolutions are just a tradition and it’s never the wrong time to set personal goals for yourself. However, if you’re participating in New Year’s resolutions this year, try to set a clear time frame and small targets to make them more achievable.
If you’d like to get a head start on your resolutions and start coming up with some ideas, here are a few goals students around Indonesia have set themselves for the upcoming year:
“My New Year’s resolution for 2021 is to spend more quality time with people closest to me, expand my networks, do more sports, participate in events, and become more aware of my mental health.” – Nathanel Juan Veron Wirawan, Binus University.
“For 2021, I hope to be in nature more and to grow as a person.” – Lulu Habsji, SMAN 3 BATAM.
“In 2021, my main resolution will be to invest and dedicate my time to starting a project, whatever it be, on the issues I hold close to me and to expand opportunities to the local community around me.” – Samantha Guillouet, Sekolah Dyatmika.
“I want to learn how to prioritise myself and learn how to love myself because it’s been quite hard for me to do that.” – Andrea Amara Najwa, Avicenna Jagajarsa High School.
“Next year, I hope to make the right choices and treat people with kindness.” – Kaia Blachére, SPHKV.
“From the beginning of 2021, I want to start exploring and expanding my interest on the idea of expressing my feelings and emotion through the media of artwork, which would lead me to help identify my personal identity.” – Atha Ridho, ACG School Jakarta.
“My New Year’s resolution is to set clear emotional boundaries and love myself more.” – Mualla Guvercin, Sampoerna Academy.
What resolutions do you have for the New Year?
Whatever you decide, give yourself time to implement them and make them a reality. Personal goals take work to achieve so don’t pressure yourself and remember that it is okay to have a few cheat days! Make the commitment and you might be surprised with how big of a difference a small goal can make in your life.
From the beginning of 2021, I want to start exploring and expanding my interest on the idea of expressing my feelings and emotion through the media of artwork, which would lead me to help identify my personal identity.