During this time of year, I always wonder how everyone’s New Year’s resolutions are going. Are you keeping to your promise? With January almost past the mid-mark, I am wondering because the same story occurs every year. Most people never achieve their New Year’s goals before the year is over.
“I want to lose 200 pounds.” “I want to get married.” “I want to buy a house.” “I want to make a million dollar next year.” “I want to get in shape.”
But who of us really keeps up with his or her New Year’s resolution? Who is eating better and exercising? Maybe lots of people are doing so right now.
Getting fit and losing weight are two of the top 10 resolutions people repeatedly do not keep. This explains why the Sanderson Center sees a huge increase in the number of people coming to play sports and work out these days, but how long is it going to last?
Probably not long. And the same story keeps happening over and over. Soon, everyone will lose interest in their resolution. People get caught up in their regular routines. This is especially true for exercise. Who really has six to 10 hours a week to spend at the gym?
So, this is what is going to happen: our friend, Moe, decides to lose weight and get fit starting this New Year. Two weeks later, he starts going back to his old eating habits and postponing going to the gym and then eventually quits the whole plan.
A few weeks later, Moe remembers February is almost here and he needs to get back on track with his weight loss and getting fit plan. For the first part of February he goes and works out and he commits to his plans again, but it does not last long because he now has to work more and concentrate on his studies.
Soon enough it hits him; Spring Break is almost here and he will be going to the beach. He needs to start working on those abs again. And so our friend Moe heads to the Sanderson every morning and evening. He works double shifts to make sure he is fit for Spring Break, but he is really overwhelmed and so he quits as he always does. He has to hide his belly for yet another vacation in Florida.
He goes back to school and pays attentions to his studies; there is no reason to think about his long-forgotten New Year’s resolution, but time flies and he then remembers he planned on spending the summer on the beach. Moe starts going to the gym again before he gets tied up with final exams and drops his plans again. He goes home and gets caught up with friends and family and although his body has definitely improved since last summer from all the sporadic exercising, it is not what he had in mind in the beginning of the year.
Then comes the summer: a period to just chill and forget about life’s everyday’s worries. Moe keeps the same level of fitness and the same weight over that period because he is always outside working or hanging out or swimming.
His fun soon ends when he has to go back to school. Moe starts going to the Sanderson at the beginning of school because there is nothing better to do in Starkville, and he thinks this is his opportunity to get back in shape, but then it starts raining and snowing and school get tougher and all hopes of keeping the New Year’s resolution diminish.
By this time, Moe completely forgets he even had a resolution for the year. And before he knows it, it is New Year’s again and guess what his new resolution will be. He is going to get fit next year. We will see about that.
The same reason we make a resolution on New Year’s is the same reason we fail in keeping our word. We shouldn’t only look for New Year’s to make changes in our lives. We should change whenever we see change necessary. We should start tomorrow or in an hour or even now if we really want to lose weight. We decide now and we carry it on all the way.
Or better, pick an easily-achievable resolution, such as gaining 200 pounds. Do not gain the 200 pounds because you are sick or super thin and you need to gain weight, but because you are average and enjoy eating food and watching TV and chilling out and doing minimal work. Maybe your new resolution is to have more fun in life and to enjoy eating all those Oreo cookies and brownies and potatoes chips you love. After all, that must be a better resolution, because it has a higher chance of you achieving it before the end of the year.
Abdallah Abu Ghazaleh is a freshman majoring in electrical engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].