“What is your New Year’s resolution?” 

This unavoidable question is asked continuously throughout the first weeks of the new year. The new year often symbolizes a fresh start, and while it is important to strive for self-improvement, setting unattainable goals is unrealistic and unhealthy. While it is beneficial to set goals for yourself, New Year’s resolutions are typically too general and impossible to achieve as there is no specific target.

According to Forbes magazine, the most common New Year’s resolution is to improve fitness. Although progress can be made, a person will never be fully satisfied with the amount of weight that they lose or muscle that is gained. However, when someone says that they want to go to the gym five days a week, that is a measurable and realistic target.

One way to set an achievable resolution is by setting a SMART goal, which stands for smart, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Creating a SMART goal instead of an open-ended one makes it easier to create a schedule that aligns with the goal, and there is a clearer sense of direction and a path to follow. As you work towards completing your resolution, you can keep track of yourself and progress along the way.

Another issue with the New Year’s resolution phenomenon are the comparisons that people make when attempting to achieve their resolutions. For instance, if two people set the same resolution to read more and in the first month one person reads five books and the other reads two, there is most likely to be a small feeling of shame or embarrassment. This can  possibly result in giving up on the goal altogether.

Instead of setting yourself up for failure, it is more productive to start implementing smaller tasks into your life that create the habits you want to form. If your resolution is to read more, you could try setting aside 15 minutes every day specifically for reading or start with reading at least 10 pages a day. Also, know that it is never too late to start implementing new habits into your life; waiting until a new year or month will only slow down the progress.

I think that resolutions are beneficial overall as long as they are done with a specific goal in mind. It is important to be okay with the fact that you might not succeed the first time or even the second, but that is all just part of the process.