New Year's Resolutions - Yay or Nay?

As we usher in 2018 as a brand new year, the APB writer's team decided to go around asking for opinions on the significance of new year's resolutions. Are you for or against the idea of a "new year, new me" outlook on life? Here are some of the responses we have received:

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

are they useful?

Written by: Bryan Ng, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Y1

It’s that time of the year again. A new year has dawned upon us and everyone is using that opportunity to ‘turn over a new leaf’ and what better way to do that than New Year’s Resolutions?

I know, most people would set themselves a whole list of unrealistic goals to achieve only to drop them less than a week later, which is why a lot of people see resolutions as rubbish, but I don’t. And here’s why:

Firstly, they are a way to keep track of your goals. Think of it this way; there a lot of things that one might want to achieve, and a new year’s resolution is a perfect way to provide the general structure for one to build on. For example, you want to lose 10 pounds before Chinese New Year. That resolution can now be further expanded to how you’re going to lose that weight, related workout and diet plans, how to fit all this into one’s schedule and so on. Many people just obtain resolutions and drop them because they don’t know how to achieve them. They just tell themselves that ‘It’s impossible, I can’t do it” and just like that, they’re back to their old selves. It’s really all about planning how you’re going to fulfill that resolution rather than just coming up with one and not doing anything about it

Secondly, it also gives us a sense of achievement. We’re all human, we like to win and get rewarded when we do something right, it’s just in our nature. Having something to aspire to throughout the year will also give life, a sense of purpose. It’s like aiming with a target and without a target. Which is easier? The one with the target of course. Those new year resolutions serve as a target to aim to and when you do achieve them, you’ll feel like you've done something noteworthy in your year and you can tell people that you’ve managed to tick off something from your New Years’ resolutions list

Finally, it impacts other aspects of your life as well. Now I know this may be very subjective and resolutions aren’t everyone’s thing. However, for me personally, I felt like setting resolutions has led me to be more organized and focused not just on my goals for the year, but on my education and other parts of my life too. I started actively keeping a planner to keep track of all the tasks I need to do for the week and to help me maximize productivity wherever I can.

My point is, resolutions might not be for everyone. Sure, they seem cheesy and unreliable at times but you never know, they might be really helpful in making 2018 your best year ever.