"I didn't make a New Year's resolution this year," sophomore Laura Willcox said. "So mine is really going great. It's pretty much been the most successful resolution ever."
Willcox may be satisfied, but many students aren't doing so well. Like the hazy memories of wild parties the night before, Americans' resolve regarding New Year's resolutions has a tendency to fade after Jan. 1.
According to www.proactive-coach.com, a site offering the service of personal "lifecoaches," only 64 percent of New Year's resolutions are maintained after the first month, and only 46 percent after six months- and students' resolutions appear to be no exception.
Case in point: freshman Pedro Echavarria. Determined to turn his life around this semester, Echavarria vowed not to play the Ninetendo 64 game Mariokart until Spring Break. He dutifully wrote his pledge down on paper and taped it to his dorm room wall. But according to Echavarria's roommate, fellow freshman Josh Ensworth, "it was only a matter of hours before Pedro gave into temptation."
Yet, rather than abandoning his resolution, Echavarria opted to amend the declared oath, allowing him to indulge in the game three times in the next seven weeks prior to Spring Break.
This was subsequently amended a second time: "Now, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays don't count at all," Echavarria said.
Echavarria's experience illustrates several resolution-keeping techniques favored by professionals like proactive-coach.com.
First, "attempt achievable goals, and make sure they are realistic." Echavarria quickly realized he would never be able to make it the full seven weeks without Mariokart - cold turkey is clearly not the best approach for him. By giving himself some leeway, Echavarria is much more likely to be successful.
Second, the Web site advises to "write your goals down, and acknowledge them to yourself and to others". By writing his resolution on the wall, Echavarria knew he would have to answer to his roommate if he failed.
Third, map out a plan of action for which to follow. When avoiding an activity, provide healthier alternatives for yourself.
Fourth, avoid choosing the same failed resolution every year. If you haven't managed to quit sniffing glue every year since eighth grade, chances are 2006 won't be any better. There are still eleven months to go; find another flaw to tackle.
The most popular resolution involves weight loss- vast numbers of Americans dutifully sat down on January 1, carefully examined the intricacies of their lives, and resolved to lose ten pounds.
Hence, the seasonally large numbers of students crowding the exercise machines at Gantcher. However, the crowd is known to peter out substantially before March.
This is not a difficult phenomenon to explain. Holiday weight gain is known to be a near-universal American vice.
According to an article published in the New Republic, the average American consumes up to 5,000 calories alone on Christmas Day.
That is sufficient to feed the average woman for three days - or potentially equivalent to the caloric intake for the average Tufts student between noon and two p.m. on Homecoming Saturday.
The most common advice on proactive-coach.com tells us that if we are going to make "exercising regularly or losing weight a goal, draw your friends with similar ambitions into the operation. You're more likely to stick to it if you can guilt trip your friends into joining you."
