Addison Eden

“At the end of the year I felt really accomplished after completing my resolution, and proud that I didn’t settle for [less] and I overachieved,” sophomore Lydia Shockley said.

With a new calendar year rolling in, some might find themselves getting creative with ways to improve from the previous year.
At Nixa High School, there are students of all varieties who feel differently about making New Year resolutions.
Putting in the extra work to achieve personal goals can be challenging, but it is important to take it one day at a time according to sophomore Kyleigh Gierer.
“I’ve been really trying to stick with it and stick to my goals a lot this year in 2023 and 2024,” Gierer said. “… But, these are smaller and concise goals compared to something much bigger and much longer – … [they are] something that I can complete.”
Sophomore Lydia Shockley does not set resolutions, but agrees that they should be more like small goals.
“…You don’t always have to do the expected thing, like going to the gym every day, because that’s not realistic,” Shockley said. “You have to set up realistic goals, [which] is what has been helping me the most.”
Shockley believes it is easier to bring the goals down to a personal level instead of overworking to achieve them.
“You have to take these goals and put them to where you are – you can’t have a drastic change overnight,” Shockley said. “[Goals] take a lot to prepare and it [can] be kind of costly. It’s a lot of work and it feels really big until you can make it smaller so it doesn’t feel as heavy.”
Senior Noah Cook brings a similar take, although he does not set traditional New Year resolutions.
“I would say that the reason I don’t ever make yearly resolutions is because of the way I prioritize my life,” Cook said. “I live in the present, I focus on my immediate problems first. Plus, thinking about the future can be a headache or hard to imagine clearly.”
However Cook said he does set goals for himself.
“Mainly being something like being a better person than I was last year or getting priorities arranged for what I might expect for the upcoming year,” Cook said.
For those who enjoy creating goals, Shockley mentioned that there is no shame in getting help to stay accountable.
“This year I’ve started [using] a habit tracker app on my phone, where clicking things and ticking [goals] off is really beneficial for me,” Shockley said. “Anytime I meet my goal for the day, I’ll click the [check mark]. Even if I didn’t make my goal for the day, I still mark what I did do so I can see my progress…”
Gierer believes that if a goal is set, it should be followed through with.
“I don’t think there’s anything necessarily bad about resolutions but only setting goals around holidays, when you don’t [have a consistent schedule], you’re more likely to plummet and fail since you’re not used to it,” Gierer said. “I’ve benefited from having goals and doing smaller goals [as opposed] to larger goals. Even daily goals, like doing homework or reading a few pages [of a book] have boosted my motivation.”
Setting more attainable goals can be more beneficial, according to Cook.
“I have to say that even though I don’t set traditional resolutions, they can be beneficial,” Cook said. “Sometimes setting goals can be a mess, so it could be helpful to set a New Year’s resolution as the main goal of the upcoming year or at least a main focus point. Focus on what kind of person you want to be and what you can change to get closer to achieving goals – big or small.”