Seeing that this is the first issue of The Advance-Titan of 2022, I figured this would be a phenomenal time to address my issue with New Year’s resolutions.

Before you page over, this is not (entirely) the typical rant critiquing the world’s innate need to “become a new person” when the ball drops in their time zone.

While I do think it’s silly to pick a specific day to start chasing after a new goal or pursuing a transformation into a better version of oneself, I will not shut down someone who wants to improve their life.

What I will shut down is the strategy and pressure involved with the idea of a New Year’s resolution.

Let’s take “working out more” as an example. On Jan. 1, nearly every fitness machine in every gym is occupied from open to close.

Most gyms will remain in that crowded state for the next couple of weeks, with fluctuations in between, but after a couple of months, the number of people going to the gym drops off significantly.

Why is this? I believe it’s because once someone gets too busy and skips a workout or eats poorly for a day, they convince themselves that they’ve ravaged their entire year’s goals and are doomed.

This can lead to binge eating, going months without working out and waiting for the next New Year to roll around to begin this monotonous process all over again.

This example, which is reflective of the way most resolutions go, is why I have a proposal for anyone reading this who makes New Year’s resolutions.

Instead of having a New Year’s resolution, why not have a “New Day’s” resolution? This mentality challenges you to become an improved version of yourself every day, but it’s not as exhaustive as expecting perfection for a year.

The best part?

If you mess up, you get to start over tomorrow.

Instead of expecting a 365-day lifestyle change from the get-go on Jan. 1, understand that mistakes happen, and there is always an opportunity to chase after your goals tomorrow instead of next year.