Will Hoogendyk IV, Campus Carrier sports editor

With every new year that rolls around, a plethora of resolutions, goals and declarations are made by people across the globe about what they have decided to change in their lives over the next twelve months. Common resolutions include eating healthier, getting more sleep, reading more or staying off social media. For many, people are able to stick to their resolutions the first few weeks of the new year with relative ease, still invigorated by the knowledge that many around them are also persevering in their hunt for improvement. The more time passes, the more determination frays, resolve erodes and discipline wanes. 

While sticking to something for 365 days is already hard enough, the lackadaisical culture of today only amplifies the difficulty of determination. Media shortens our attention span, hook up culture degrades fidelity and the overwhelming amount of new innovation makes living in the present more difficult than ever. It is no wonder people have a tough time tackling a new year’s resolution when they can’t even stay committed to reading a course textbook. 

Despite these challenges, I encourage those reading this to persevere. It is never too early or too late to make a new year’s resolution ­— who says it has to be January 1? Start at the beginning of a new week, a new month, you can even start now if you have a strong desire to make a change in your life. It isn’t about when you start, it is about sticking to it. 

Whether you want to read a certain number of books or journal every day, these resolutions are best kept when you aren’t the only person involved. Accountability is often an undervalued trait, but one that is incredibly important, especially in regards to resolutions. If you have already heard the thoughts telling you to give up on your goals creep in, I implore you to stay with it. Ask people in your life to check up with you regularly to make sure you are completing or sticking to the goals you have for yourself. Better yet, start a new year’s resolution with someone else so that you can encourage one another to keep persevering towards the end goal. 

Finally, consider that a new year’s resolution doesn’t have to incur a dramatic change in your life. It could simply be something that you want to get better at or do more often. 

One of my own goals for 2025 is to run more. This could be once a week or once a month. Either way, it would be more than I ran in 2024. I didn’t start with a mile goal or time to beat — I just went outside and took off. I encourage you to do the same. Whatever the size of your resolution in 2025, the best thing to do is start and make fixes along the way. It doesn’t have to be perfect from the start, but one thing is certain: you have to start in order to finish.