As the ball drops and brings in the new year, people all across the world celebrate and start the year off with a night of festivities. Everyone holds high hopes as the clock strikes midnight, wishing for the year to go their way.

The new year also provides an opportunity for people to set goals through a New Year’s resolution. The resolutions are a tradition in many parts of the world in which people resolve to change parts of themselves that they aren’t satisfied with. Some of the most common resolutions are to work out more, lose weight, and eat more healthily. However,  few people ever keep the resolutions beyond a few weeks.   

“It’s always fun to think of one, even when you know it’s not gonna last any longer than a day. I’ve learned to not really treat it like a big life-changing deal and make your resolution something reasonable that you might actually be able to accomplish,” sophomore Myles Durbin said with a laugh. “I think a resolution that’s easy to do and has really good health benefits is to just drink more water. That’s it.”

Many other students at Milford seem to agree with this advice.

“If you really want the change, you go after it. But if you know you’re not really gonna see your resolution through to the end, why lie to yourself? Just make it something simple you can do,” junior Cara Lamb stated. “My 2016 resolution was to meet more people. It wasn’t hard. I really didn’t even have to try to do it.”

Some students have learned from their resolution experiences in 2016, and have kept all that in mind while thinking of their 2017 resolution.

“In 2016, my resolution was to get straight A’s. I kept my grades up, but because of sports, I didn’t end with all straight A’s. I took it easier this year and set high honors as my goal,” sophomore Ben Larson said. “I think an achievable resolution is important to have because it keeps you working for something.”

Many agree with Larson that having a resolution is important, but some have given it up for 2017.

“I forgot to make a resolution for 2017. At first, I tried to think of one, but then I decided I’d rather not,” sophomore Alex Youngblood said. “I’ve made a lot of changes throughout the year, and I’m pretty happy right now. When I wanted to make a change in my life, I didn’t just save it for the new year. I made it immediately and my 2016 got better as a result. You don’t need the new year to make a resolution.”

Unfortunately, making these big changes at any time of the year is not easy. An article called ‘Why your new year resolutions are not working’ on financialtimes.com says that a behavior change is very difficult to pull off, regardless of the month. The article goes on to state that in a survey of over 2,000 people, they found that 56 percent had not stuck to their New Year’s resolutions.

The article goes on to explain that the more modest your resolution, the more likely your success. The writer, Anjana Ahuja says, “Permanently overcoming my sweet tooth would be a resolution doomed to failure. Instead, I try to occasionally eschew a biscuit with my morning coffee. From such modest ambitions are minor triumphs fashioned.”

Then the article explains the science behind why these behavior changes are so hard to do. It all comes down to the mysterious science behind willpower and self-control. Roy Baumeister, a psychologist and professor at Florida State University, believes that our self-control diminishes as blood glucose levels drop and the brain runs low on energy.

Overall, the article offers a scientific insight into New Year’s resolutions and why they accomplishing them is a difficult task.

“Making such a huge change so suddenly and expecting to hold to it for a year is impossible,” Durbin said. “Just make it something you can do, and you’ll end up feeling good about yourself.”

With all this in mind, it’s time to start thinking of the perfect resolution for 2018.