Texan Mosaic

Story by Conner Kennedy, COMM 2311-151 Newswriting

The fireworks are done.  The ball has long since dropped in New York’s Times Square.  So, what about those New Year’s resolutions you made?    

How’s the gym going?  Are you still reading every day?  Those are common resolutions.

According to research done last year by the Pew Research Center, 79% of adults who made resolutions said their resolutions concerned health.  Another 61% said they made resolutions about money or finances, 57% about personal relationships, 55% about hobbies or personal interests.

This year dozens of SPC students made New Year’s resolutions in the Levelland library. A giant bulletin board, along with lots of paper, pens, and tape, invited students to fill out notes finishing the sentence, “This year I will…”

By the first week of classes, nearly 30 students had responded to the display.  Some offered statements such as “Lock in”, “Improve credit and GPA,” and “Get married and published”.

Others included:  “Make bread,” and “Go to the gym at least 1 time this semester”, and “Squat 165 lbs un-assisted”.

New Year’s resolutions are not uncommon.  According to the Pew Research Center, about 30% of U.S. adults made at least one resolution in 2024. That number jumped up to 49% for ages 18-29.

Of course, not everyone chooses to make them, including Rebecca Canon, SPC director of Health and Wellness.

“I personally don’t set New Year’s resolutions because I prefer to focus on the day to day goals,” she says.

But even though she doesn’t make New Year’s resolutions herself, Canon says they can definitely be helpful if they are approached with the right mindset.

“They provide an opportunity to reflect on the past year,” she says, “set intentions for self-improvement, and create fresh goals. For some, they serve as a great motivator to make positive changes, whether it’s focusing on health, learning new skills, or improving relationships.”   

The problem, of course, is not making promises, it’s keeping them.

“I have set resolutions in the past that I had a lot of difficulty sticking to,” Canon says, “and felt like I let myself down.”

According to a 2023 Forbes Health survey of 1000 U.S. adults, 8% said their resolutions lasted one month, 21.9% said two months, and 22.2% said three months.  The percentages dropped off significantly after that.

But Pew’s research from last year wasn’t quite as discouraging.  According to its results, by the end of January, 87% of the people in the study were successful in keeping at least some of their resolutions, while 13% said they had kept none.

“The challenge is often sticking with them,” Canon says, “since the excitement can fade over time. But if the resolutions are realistic, specific, and tied to personal values, they can lead to meaningful progress.”

Other advice for how to keep those resolutions is all over the internet.  One site suggests you try to change only one behavior at a time.   Another site suggests you reward yourself along the way and maybe keep a journal of your progress.

So, while it’s a personal decision whether to make New Year’s resolutions at all, they could end up leading to something meaningful. 

Nathan Ragland, Director of Libraries at SPC, was the person in charge of putting the “This year I will…” board together in the library.  He says he was left encouraged after the event, as he believes students were left with a positive impact.

One student wrote, “Be a better person.”  Another simply wrote, “Be kind.”

Whatever your New Year’s resolutions are, it’s good to know you’re not alone in making them.  And, maybe the best part about them?  If it’s already not going so well, you can always try again next year.