New Year’s Resolutions: Easy to make, not-so-easy to keep.

My personal testimony on keeping one healthy goal daily to improve life.

Written by Ava Brennan

“Did you make a New Year's resolution?” 

New Year’s resolutions are positive goals people set for themselves to improve their physical, mental or personal wellbeing. These resolutions can include making new healthy habits or breaking undesirable ones. Some aim for small milestones, like learning to bake bread, while others go after larger ones, like earning a promotion at work. 

In the past, I would suddenly decide in late December to adopt a new habit or daily goal when the new year began. I intended to go to the gym daily or eat healthier, but by mid-January, year after year, I often gave up and fell into a "maybe next year” mindset. This year, I wanted to dig deeper: How can I actually keep my New Year's resolution? 

My goal for 2026 is to meditate every day. Close friends and my mental health counselor have suggested meditation to help the daily anxiety I experience. I’ve attempted meditation in the past and found the experience beneficial. Last year, my excuse was, “I don’t have the time to meditate.” I now realize that that isn’t true, and I’ve committed to five minutes of meditation each day.

For the purpose of this piece, I started my meditation practice Nov. 19. I was taught it took 21 days to make or break a habit, though research shows it can take longer depending on the goal. For timeliness, I decided to track my experience for three weeks and monitor how easy or difficult it became. 

Before I began, I wrote down a plan to make my goals realistic and convenient to align with my busy schedule. My realistic goal was five minutes each day. For convenience, I chose a consistent time for my new practice. I decided on 5 p.m., after classes and before evening commitments. I set a meditation reminder on my phone to help me stay consistent.

To make my goal accessible, I turned to YouTube as a free online mediation guide, where I found a plethora of five-minute guided mediations. 

During week one,  I tried different channels to see which I connected with most. At first I was overwhelmed by all the different methods of meditation. I eventually found my favorite methods were a combination of breathwork, visualization and body scanning.

After the first five days, I felt excited when my reminder would go off. Beyond the physical and mental improvements, I felt proud of myself for meeting my goal. 

By the three-week mark, meditating daily was no longer a task that felt daunting or inconvenient. It became a simple part of daily life like brushing my teeth or making breakfast. Some days I even found myself increasing my mediation time to 10 or 15 minutes. 

For the first time, I have successfully kept my New Years Resolution – even before the new year began. This started as an intimidating commitment, but it ended up becoming a source of pride. For individuals who are struggling to keep new goals, I found a few helpful tips from my own experience that I would recommend.

1. Make it realistic

   
   

I often set the bar too high for myself. Although my intentions are strong, my expectations are not realistic for my chaotic schedule as a student. Brainstorm a convenient and realistic plan so that your goal is attainable. 

2. Visualize it 

   
   

I am a visual learner, so to have a visual reminder of my goal, I designed a vision board with online photos and set it as my desktop wallpaper. This way, I could see and visualize the goals and lifestyle I wanted. 

3. Hold yourself accountable 

   
   

In the past, I kept goals to myself out of fear that I would fail. I think this mindset made me “doomed from the start.” My responsibility for writing this piece held me accountable to my meditation goal. There was no option to quit or this story would not exist. My advice is to tell friends and family about your goal. Following positive goals can better your lifestyle – and it can also give you an enormous sense of pride.