John Marston
Special to the Tribune
Americans who make New Year's resolutions usually take the tradition serious; others just like having fun. Tip McGuire, a sophomore in the college of Arts and Sciences AM said, "I vow to start smoking, and then quit smoking cigarettes by 2008.,”
Americans who make New Year's resolutions usually take the tradition serious; others just like having fun: Tip McGuire, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said, "I vow to start smoking, and then quit smoking cigarettes by 2008."
But making and keeping New Year's resolutions can be difficult for an entire year. Even though everyone talks about what their resolution will be, the actual number of people who attempt a resolution and follow through is far less. Only about 40 percent of adult Americans make New Year's resolutions, according to a poll published by the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Among that group 75 percent are found to uphold their resolution past the first week. Less than 50 percent of people were found to follow through with their resolution after six months.
Following through with your New Year's resolution is the hardest part. Since most people would like to make the entire year without breaking their resolutions, there are services available to help them stay on track with their resolution. The popular Web site MyGoals.com helps to assist people with maintaining their own goals.
According to the Web site's mission statement, after registering your personal goal with the Web site, you will receive e-mail reminders when you should be working on tasks towards your goal. By dishing out $49.95 a year, MyGoals.com will help you achieve your resolution from health and fitness to personal finances and career goals. If you have problems following through with your resolution, services like MyGoals.com may be the extra boost needed to help you make it until next January.
All across the Marquette campus, students have been making their own New Year's resolutions. If you ask your friends, most will probably say their resolution is to study more, go to the library every week, quit smoking and exercise more. The there is always that person out there with the wacky New Year's resolution.
"I want to gain weight this year by eating more junk food, and exercise less," said Peter Lillis, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration.
While students like McGuire and Lillis have picked odd health habits for 2007, other students have found some unique ways of saving a little extra cash.
"To save money this next semester, I will do less laundry and use more deodorant. Laundry is always a pain, and costs way too much anyways," said John Dritsas, a sophomore in the College of Communication.
"Next year I promise myself to not buy a single CD; instead, I plan on downloading them all for free off the Internet," said John Eiden, a senior in the College of Communication.
Taking advice from these students may not be the best idea when deciding on what you want to change for this year. Sometimes a cliche resolution may be the best thing to do. Exercise more, quit smoking (if you are a smoker), get organized, manage your finances and study more often – unless you are perfect, I am sure you could work on one of these. Have a happy New Year and good luck.
Top four resolutions:
Increase exercise
Be more conscientious about work or school
Develop better eating habits
Stop smoking, drinking, or using drugs (including caffeine)
People make more resolutions to start a new habit, than to break an old one.
(www.about.com)
Fun resolution fact:
The new year was first observed in Babylon about 4,000 years ago. Their most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment. (www.adoptionworld.org)
Your government, courtesy of www.usa.gov suggests you makes these resolutions:
Lose Weight
Pay Off Debt
Save Money
Get a Better Job
Get Fit
Eat Right
Get a Better Education
Drink Less Alcohol
Quit Smoking Now
Reduce Stress Overall
Reduce Stress at Work
Take a Trip
Volunteer to Help Others
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