Man on the street: New Year's resolutions

With the beginning of 2016 come resolutions, and many UNC students have made goals to make this their best year yet. But there are also students who have become skeptical of the New Year’s tradition, including senior Rachel Farmer.

“I don’t have resolutions. I try not to disappoint myself,” she said.

According to a Dec. 27, 2015 study from the University of Scranton, only 8 percent of people who set a New Year’s Resolution will achieve it. Despite this low success rate, many Americans continue to ring in the New Year by setting new goals for themselves.

“I think a big part of it is a social norm,” said Steven Buzinski, a UNC lecturer of psychology and neuroscience. "It's kind of expected and is a very cultural thing for us, especially in America."

Buzinski said all of the cultural hoopla surrounding the tradition is why goals aren’t often taken seriously and ultimately forgotten by February.

UNC exchange student Kevin Lee agreed with Buzinski’s statement about why so many resolutions lack longevity.

“It’s just something that comes to people’s minds, and they really don’t follow through with it,” Lee said.

Buzinski said another reason many resolutions fail is that people usually set unrealistic goals.

“A lot of times our New Year's Resolutions are more akin to wishful thinking than they are a serious attempt to establish goals,” Buzinski said.

Buzinski said anybody serious about achieving their resolutions should think about the implementation intentions, a term coined by UNC psychology professor Paschal Sheeran.

“These are essentially if-then points linking the goal itself to how you will actually pursue that goal in your everyday life,” he said.

Buzinski said another important aspect of achieving one’s resolutions is sharing resolutions with others.

“Research shows that to really successfully pursue goals, we need to first set up a commitment to those goals, and typically we do that in a public forum that commits us to achieving x, y, z.”

So instead of immediately hitting “BLOCK” the next time you see a “New Year, New Me” post on Facebook, Buzinski suggests consider hitting “LIKE” instead.

“If you really want to help them, just say, ‘Hey, we’re behind you. Go for it,’ and then they’ll see people are holding them to their goal.”

Man on the Street:

“I want to graduate and just do everything for the glory of God. I’m going to be working for a nonprofit, so I want to be able to make a difference and fulfill the purpose I have on this earth.”

Jeanette Stackhouse, senior, English and communication studies major