A new year, a new you
Some students on campus have chosen to forgo the letdown that comes from not quite achieving their goals by skipping resolutions all together.
“I don’t make New Year resolutions because I don’t take them serious enough, but I do make goals, not just at the first of the year,” said Tammy Jenks, a graduate student in deaf education. Jenks said it is important to set goals, but feels like it’s rare for people to actually keep the goals they set at the beginning of the year.
Kirk Player, a junior studying pre-physical therapy, said one reason people like to make goals at the beginning of the year is because they like the fresh start that a brand new 365 days gives them. “I think many people feel like when the New Year starts, they are going to make this year better then the last,” he said.
Whitney Waggoner, a sophomore in geography, has a few ideas on why she and others have a tendency to forget the goals they make. She pointed out that at the beginning of the year, she feels like she has a long time to accomplish what she wants. “I push off starting because I have a whole year to do it, but usually if I put it off, it doesn’t happen,” Waggoner said.
Making goals at the beginning of the year isn’t just words or dreams that will be forgotten come March for Brandon Houmand, a sophomore in business marketing. He likes to make goals each year, and said he also follows through and takes action to make sure he reaches those goals. Houmand says he has to write down his goals, or “otherwise they’re just dreams.”
He thinks many people don’t reach their goals because they make them too big and broad.
“I actually sit down and think about where I want to go in the future. I step back and try to see the end, then I make smaller specific goals to help me reach my bigger goal,” he said.
Many students agreed that New Year’s resolutions come in common categories like taking a trip somewhere they haven’t been, trying something they have never done before or reading more books and getting into shape or losing weight.
The professional health industry notices a greater increase of gym memberships around the first of the year. Dan Smith, the general manager for the Sports Academy and Racquet Club in Logan, said the beginning of the year is a busy time for their business. “After the holidays, getting in shape is fresh on everyone’s mind, so we see a great number of people who want to get in shape signing up for gym memberships,” Smith said.
He said industry-wide retention of new gym members is about 45 percent on average. He has been working at the Racquet Club for six years and in those first few years, he said he saw many people coming in right after the new year, but six to eight weeks later, gym attendance would decrease. To keep numbers up, they use promotions to help encourage members to reach their goals.
Staying in shape is just one of the goals that can be tough to accomplish, but Aggies seem to have plenty of ideas when it comes to achieving New Year’s resolutions. Students suggested things like writing down goals, making the goal as specific as possible, having a good plan of action, measuring progress along the way and even having a friend along for the ride.
-dwkoecher@cc.usu.edu