January 1st introduces the new. The new year and, more importantly, the New Year resolutions. These days you usually see the “New Year, New Me” posts on multiple social media accounts, but are New Year’s resolutions really beneficial? According to the New York Times, “just twenty-nine percent of Americans say they would be making New Year’s resolutions.” New Year’s Resolutions can be very unrealistic. In today’s time, there are many unrealistic standards, especially when social media is a big part of our world. It does make sense why less than fifty percent of Americans may not create resolutions. 

My research does provide ways to make resolutions less stressful and self-conscious. There are two types of goals: intrinsic and extrinsic. 

Extrinsic goals are the type of goals to avoid when making your New Year’s resolutions. These goals revolve around the approval of others, so these may include: wealth, fame, and power. 

The goals that Americans do need to focus on in the future years are intrinsic goals. These goals meet a person’s basic needs and feel good to pursue. Some goals under intrinsic goals include good relationships with people, community help, and just simple personal growth. 

Personally, having goals does help me better myself in the new year. 3 years ago, I cut sugar and carbs out of my diet as a New Year’s Resolution. It has made such a difference in my life for the better. My health has improved tremendously because I made a commitment on January 1st of 2019. 

I use the SMART method to structure my goals in a way to better myself. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This method prevents one from creating goals that are hard to achieve and will result in disappointment. Each goal is pretty straightforward as far as what to do. Another method people use to plan their goals is vision boards. This is where people can pull photos from the internet and collage them on an online document or if they are creative, can pull photos from a magazine and collage it on paper. 

Just looking at these two techniques for goal planning, it is so easy to create doable New Year’s resolutions. It is not too late; make your New Year’s goals and better yourself in 2022!