With the end of another year comes many people making impractical resolutions for themselves.

University of Scranton psychology professor John Norcross found that some of the top New Year’s resolutions are exercising, quitting smoking, more penny-pinching and losing weight.

Norcross looked at success rates of peoples’ resolutions and found, for the most part, resolutions are followed through for the first two weeks of the new year. But most people are slacking by February, and those resolutions are merely a dream of the past by December.

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People don’t stick to their goals for a variety of reasons, with the main being that they set their goals too high.

University of Toronto psychology professor Peter Herman said there is such a thing as “false hope syndrome,” in which peoples’ resolutions do not match their internal view of themselves. 

When someone makes a resolution to lose weight, it won’t happen if they don’t believe it’s possible for themselves.

Instead of making unobtainable resolutions, people should set realistic goals. The more specific the goal, the more achievable it becomes.

Quitting smoking is not a realistic, specific goal. Cutting down to only three cigarettes a day would be.

Not buying those $40 beach sandals you’ve had your eye on because you want to save money is just torturing yourself. Instead of not spending money on things that you want, limit yourself to allocate a certain amount of money toward treating yourself every month.

Another reason for failed resolutions is discouragement. People may think that if they lose weight or stop smoking, they will turn their life around right away. When that doesn’t happen, they often become disappointed and go back to their old habits. 

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If someone makes their resolution to go to the gym every day when they have only gone twice a year, they will probably feel defeated when their body can’t handle the muscle aches after running for three days straight.

Not only is making an unrealistic resolution harmful to the body, it can also be detrimental to the mind. When people don’t receive instant gratification, their self-esteem goes down and they give up.

This is not a concept of “old habits die hard” so much as it is a psychological issue. If someone does not see the ability to change in themselves, or have the patience to go through the process of said change, their resolution will fall through the cracks.

People should remember that everything is a process, and good things take time. It doesn’t matter if you crawl to the finish line, so long as you get there.

Shannon Allen can be reached at [email protected] or at 618-536-3325.