New Year’s Resolutions: Realistic or a Mirage?

The end of each year and the beginning of the next are typically reflective times when our goals and aspirations for that year are evaluated, either consciously through critical self-evaluations and soul-searching or subconsciously when we believe we had a terrible year. This December is no different than previous years in that people make realistic or unrealistic goals and plans as new year’s resolutions.

Making new year’s resolutions is an excellent way to make positive changes in one’s life. However, according to research by US News and World Report and FranklinCovey, 80 percent of resolutions fail by February. This brings up a pertinent question: Are new year’s resolutions actually achievable or are they just an illusion born out of self-loathing and regret over past failures? Let’s now hear what UIMSAites think about this.

Dr. Olaoluwa Olorunfemi

What does a new year mean to you?
A new year is a time to properly take a break, think back to the past year and also plan, if you’re someone like that.

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
I think they’re good opportunities to set goals. Whether you like it or not, a lot of things are tied to the new year such as school and finances. The break between the 25th and 31st is a good time to step back and reflect but I don’t think it’s necessary because a lot of things that you plan to do in the new year can be started any time you want.

Are you a ‘New year, New me’ person or a 31st and 1st are just 24 hours apart person?
I think I’m a bit of both because the shege I’ve seen this year has made me incline towards the former but on a more serious note, I’m not a ‘new year, new me’ person.

As a former ‘new year, new me’ person, on a scale of 1–10, have your resolutions been achieved at the end of every year?
Yes but only in the broadest terms of it. I can say I want to pass my MB this year, make more money or try a new business out but I’ve noticed that when it comes to the smaller details like recording finances, it’s not easily accomplished. The way life works, a lot of resolutions change midway and you just have to abandon them.

Do you think new year’s resolutions are necessary?
I think they are necessary because growth in itself is necessary. New Year Resolutions if done right can be good tools for growth. They are like visions you have in mind for the future. It’s being realistic or not depends on the steps you take to bring that vision to life.

Jonas Ibekwe, 300 level

What does a new year mean to you?
A new year is not so different from every new day we experience through God’s grace, maybe just this time we feast and celebrate it in a grand style. Well, I think the celebration is worth it. To commence a new period of 365 days, despite the calamity in our world, is something to be grateful for.

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
It is a plus as it gives one a sense of direction; albeit, one must not just stop there but endeavor to execute the plans to achieve the set goals. Life improves a lot when we take out time to assess ourselves and devise means for self-improvement. For this, we must plan and set goals.

Are you a ‘New year, New me’ person or a 31st and 1st are just 24 hours apart person?
I would go with 24 hrs because man ought to plan and work on himself each new day.
Waiting for every new year to re-strategize is nothing short of a disaster.

Do you think new year’s resolutions are realistic or a mirage? Do you think they are necessary?
It being realistic is solely dependent on the individual. So it’s possible for it to be realistic if commitment and diligence is given to it.
Regarding it being necessary, I would prefer to be neutral. However, if the new year’s resolution works for anyone, then it’s wise to maximize it. If not, dump it. Resolutions can be made at any time, for real.

Chioma Muotoh, 600 level

What does a new year mean to you?
Nothing, really. Just another round of 365 days.

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
I think yearly goals are great so long as they are realistic. It helps to break them, say into quarterly goals. It’s easier to attempt reading 2 books in a quarter, than 6 books in a year. And with the goals broken down, it’s easier to check in often and adjust appropriately.

Are you a ‘New year, New me’ person or a 31st and 1st are just 24 hours apart person?
I think all that “new year, new me” is crap.
You can decide to be a new person at the middle of the year. You can wake up one day, decide that you’ve not been living as you should and start trying to be a new person.

Do you think new year’s resolutions are necessary?
I think the idea of a new year and things changing is more of a social thing than anything else so.

Rebecca Ogunnaike, 200 level

What does a new year mean to you?
New Year is essentially a time for reflection and looking back at the past year, (highlighting things I could have done better, things I’m grateful for, checking if my goals were met), as well as looking forward to the future with hope and optimism (setting goals for the new year, mapping out milestones I hope to achieve and generally trying not to beat myself up if I feel like I didn’t meet my own expectations).

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
Yearly goals, monthly goals even, are nice, and so also are resolutions. I don’t just think it should be rigidly built around a certain time of the year, as there is no perfect time for change.

Are you a ‘new year, new me’ person; a ‘new month, new me’ person; or just a 24 hrs apart person?
A bit of both, actually. The difference you want to make when the clock strikes 12:00 on Jan 1, 2023, why not implement it the second you conceived it that hot afternoon of Dec 23, 2022. Why wait?

Have you made new year’s resolutions before? On a scale of 1–10, have your resolutions been achieved at the end of every year?
I’d say 6. I do set some rather outrageous goals. You smash some, you leave some. But always go in with the aim of smashing all.

Do you think new year’s resolutions are realistic or a mirage? Do you think they are necessary or otherwise?
It all depends on the individual making the resolutions. There’s no point in making resolutions you won’t follow up on.

Ifeoluwani Dosunmu, 200 level

What does a new year mean to you?
I mostly think of new years as continuations of the years before. Nothing overly dramatic. Just enter the new year with vibes and insha Allah.

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
It’s nice for real. I’ve seen many people achieve what they want. But it’s not my thing because I feel you don’t need to wait for the new year for you to have lists of what you want to do.

Have you made new year’s resolutions before? On a scale of 1–10, have your resolutions been achieved at the end of every year?

Yes. It was to stop drinking soda. On a scale of 1 -10, I’d say 2.

Do you think new year’s resolutions are realistic or a mirage?
It’s not like they are unrealistic to me, but I just don’t go with the idea of having resolutions at the beginning of the year.

Adebanjo Alex, 400 level

What does a new year mean to you?
Just another year.

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
More often than not, it’s not like your life takes a pause on December 31st and starts all over again on January first. So I don’t really believe much in new year’s resolutions. I simply believe in resolutions — and they can be made anytime. But I also understand that for a lot of people, the new year is a time of reflection and it denotes a chance to start afresh on things that have hitherto not been working. For such people, the belief in new year’s resolutions is quite understandable.

Are you a ‘New year, New me’ person or a 31st and 1st are just 24 hours apart person?
The latter. January 1st is just another day.

Have you made new year’s resolutions before? On a scale of 1–10, have your resolutions been achieved at the end of every year?
I did, once. I’ll give it a 5 for the achievements.

Do you think new year’s resolutions are realistic or a mirage? Do you think they are necessary or otherwise?
New year resolutions without the ‘new year’ tag are still resolutions. So I believe they are very realistic as there’s the willpower to pursue them, even after the motivation that comes with the new year has withered away.

Joshua Inioluwa, 400 level

What does a new year mean to you?
A new year means a new beginning, a fresh start. I get to begin a fresh set of 365 days I have never experienced before. It is also a reminder that time flies, rapidly; and I am getting older and should do better.

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
I think setting new year goals and resolutions is good. One can reflect on the past year to see what one had done right and should continue or the wrongs that should be corrected by adopting new habits.
The catch is that a lot of people set unrealistic goals which are unattainable. Or they set realistic goals but don’t exactly clarify how to go about achieving them and maintaining consistency.
We, humans, are creatures of habit. Wishful thinking and goals on paper are not enough to cause real-life changes. The meat is in the doing.

Are you a ‘new year, new me’ person; a ‘new month, new me’ person; or just a 24 hrs apart person?
I am a new year, new me person to an extent. I try to set new targets each year.

Have you made new year’s resolutions before? On a scale of 1–10, have your resolutions been achieved at the end of every year?
6/10. Many times, I slip back into the same old patterns, other times I put in the work and things turn out better. Moreover, circumstances entirely beyond my control may alter the course of events, in favor — or not — of achieving the set goals and resolutions.

Do you think new year’s resolutions are realistic or a mirage? Do you think they are necessary or otherwise?
New year resolutions are just that — resolutions. The will to work and the discipline to follow through are the real change-makers.
But again, change often comes with identifying the areas to work on. Setting new goals and resolutions is the first step of identification in the journey of change for a better life.

Folusho Olu-Adegbola, 300 level

What does a new year mean to you?
New chapter on a fresh new page, new hopes and new beginnings. Though sometimes, I feel it’s nothing but just a ceremony.

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
I believe it makes an individual purpose-driven and goal-orientated, not just live through the year based on pure vibes and insha’allah.

Are you a ‘new year, new me’ person; a ‘new month, new me’ person; or just a 24 hrs apart person?
Nahh, I’m not a chameleon.

Have you made new year’s resolutions before? On a scale of 1–10, have your resolutions been achieved at the end of every year?
Not a ‘new year, new me’ type of person but I’d rate my yearly achievements a solid 7 (on an average).

Do you think new year’s resolutions are realistic or a mirage? Do you think they are necessary or otherwise?
Realistic, but directly proportional to resilience, consistency and hard work.

Isaac Abraham, 100 level

What does a new year mean to you?
A new year, to me, is the start of a new cycle of life. It signifies the fact that I’m stepping onto a new path of my journey and about to experience life in a way I never have.

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
I’ve noticed an unusual amount of slander against new year’s resolutions over the past weeks, and it’s been amusing. I personally don’t fancy planning things long-term; that’s too restricting for me and I’d like to properly enjoy my year. Also, we’re in Nigeria where just about anything can happen and have you tearing out whatever plans you’ve got written down.

Are you a ‘new year, new me’ person; a ‘new month, new me’ person; or just a 24 hours apart person?
LMAOOO. I’ve been told by people around me that I have various personalities, so maybe a 24-hours person. Taking life one day at a time>>.

If you’re a ‘new year, new me person’, on a scale of 1–10, have your resolutions (yearly goals) been achieved at the end of every year?
I just forget after the sixth day of the year, to be honest.

Do you think new year’s resolutions are realistic or a mirage? Do you think they are necessary or otherwise?
I think this depends on the kind of person that you are. I’ve met people who have followed through with their 2022 resolutions, and that’s pretty cool. For some, it’s fugazi… an attempt at feeling prepared for the year. Here to tell you that you don’t need to.

Elizabeth Ayegboyin, 100 level

What does a new year mean to you?
A new year means the same period just with a new date. Nothing that new to me about it.

What’s your take on making yearly goals and new year’s resolutions?
I don’t believe in new year resolutions but I like to make yearly goals.

Are you a ‘new year, new me’ person; a ‘new month, new me’ person; or just a 24 hours apart person?
I am a ’24 hrs apart person’, a new year could literally be any period in time. We just chose this period besides after a few days the festivity wears off and everyone is back to the same cycle. They go to work, or school or wherever they go. New years aren’t significant to me.

Have you made new year’s resolutions before? On a scale of 1–10, have your resolutions been achieved at the end of every year?
I’d like to say yearly goals and new year resolutions are different. I don’t prepare my goals at the beginning of the year but I do a yearly standard I’d like to meet.
So like, by the end of 2027, I’d like to have done this and that.
I’ll place myself on a 5.

Do you think new year’s resolutions are realistic or a mirage? Do you think they are necessary or otherwise?
They’re realistic but most people attach it to a ‘new year’ and when the ‘new year’ wears off, so do their goals. I think they are necessary but people need to stop attaching it to the ‘new year.’

In conclusion, resolutions are instruments that can either set us up for better or for worse. It is all in the mind and It is highly individual. It is important that regardless of whatever boat you’re in, you always remember to stay true to yourself and rest in the knowledge that whatever the new year eventually will be, is what you make of it.

Before 2022 says goodbye, find out: Why do you make new year’s resolutions? Have you just been following the yearly trend? Do resolutions actually work for you? Will you be making resolutions for 2023?

Let us know your takeaways in the comment section below.
Happy new year!

Jolly Thomas and Osaretin Vanessa Ehiorobo