You know what yanks my Cord…

….New Year’s resolutions. It’s that time of year once again where many in our society feel that the coming of a new year calls for a complete change for the better in some aspect of their lives.

Despite the positive intentions of those who take on New Year’s resolutions, the goals that have been set are often put on the back burner and eventually forgotten within a matter of a few weeks after the new year begins.

For the majority who eventually do not choose to honour their resolution any longer, the practice actually becomes counterproductive to the self-esteem and motivation necessary in order to make positive changes in life.          
    
How common is it to hear about someone obtaining a gym membership in the first week of January only to never step foot in the place past the middle of February? It is absolutely ridiculous how easily fitness establishments take advantage of resolution setting at the beginning of each New Year marketing itself as a definite avenue for healthy lifestyle changes.

We often forget that achieving significant change through activities like physical fitness takes months of perseverance and hard work and does not come along with putting a three month down payment on a fitness club membership.               

While it is commendable to approach life with great ambitions, these have to be paralleled with careful planning and a great deal of hard work and discipline in order to achieve success.

More often than not, the practice of setting New Year’s resolutions forces people to focus more on the end result of goals like being more physically fit or a higher achieving student rather than the steps that are essential to achieving these in the first place.

This is not to suggest that self-improvement is a bad idea. Certainly, all of us could benefit from striving to enhance an aspect of our lives that is in need of recognition. However, it is completely false to believe that the coming of the New Year is the most suitable or the only time for this type of behaviour to be realized.

Realistic goal setting and striving for excellence is something that should be sought after each day of our lives in a continuous effort to maximize our full potential.

—Martin Pineda