We all say we want to reinvent ourselves for the new year. We have ambitions, set goals and invent resolutions to improve our lives. Most often, these improvements involve physical health, nutrition, intellectual growth, saving money, or pursuing new hobbies. We approach the new year as a fresh slate — a chance to start again and to fix all that was wrong with ourselves last year.
To signal this fresh start, we often say: “New year, new me!”
Essentially, our goal is to make ourselves unrecognizable to a point where we are no longer the “loser” we were last year. Many people adopt this mindset, and “new year, new me” has become an annual occurrence.
But should it be?
In mainstream culture, the phrase “new year, new me” suggests that we will be able to accomplish a radical behavior change as soon as the sparkly ball drops in Times Square. It is easy to set goals, but it is much, much harder to put them into action. Behavior change is a gradual process, and it is easier to achieve growth when we begin with measurable goals.
To some degree, the belief that major lifestyle changes are necessary to improve one’s life may be attributed to the prevalence of social media and the hours spent watching other people boast about their accomplishments. We all have seen the aesthetic “get ready with me” videos, where the creator runs four miles, cooks a gourmet meal and rescues a puppy, all before 7 a.m.
In comparison, viewers are left feeling inadequate. However, it is important to remember that what we see online is staged, and no one wakes up with the camera rolling.
This idea of “new year, new me” toes the line between a genuine desire to improve one’s mind and body and the desire to be perceived as “better” and therefore acceptable to other people. This is problematic.
Improvement should be something we do to make ourselves feel good, not because we want to fit a standard set by someone else. Societal pressure can be a powerful motivator for change, but it is not the most fulfilling. What is rewarding, however, is setting achievable goals that can be integrated into daily life, and waking up one day realizing that you have made at least one aspect of your life better.
To accomplish this, I would suggest the Transtheoretical Model. This model outlines the stages of change through habitual behavior and was developed in the late 1970s to explain why some people were able to quit smoking while others were not. I favor this model because it allows for gradual shifts in behavior, which makes resolutions more approachable.
The Transtheoretical Model has five stages, where each stage provides the most effective approaches for accomplishing it, and then prepares you for the next one. For example, imagine someone resolves to save money. If they approached this using the Transtheoretical Model, they would follow the five stages in this way:
- Precontemplation — In this stage, people are unaware of a “problem” or a behavior that needs to be changed and do not intend to make a change. They would be unaware that they need to save and would not be making any effort to reduce their spending.
- Contemplation — In this stage, people become aware of a change that needs to be made and consider how to go about changing it. In the example, the person may realize their spending habits are unsustainable and that maybe they should start to pay attention to their finances.
- Preparation — In this stage, people prepare to make a change in the next 30 days and begin taking small steps towards improvement. Perhaps the person discussed budgeting with their friends and family and created a plan to reduce their spending each month.
- Action — In this stage, people have made the initial behavior change and continue to act accordingly. The person has spent a month budgeting under a plan they formed with their parents and checks their bank balance every few days.
- Maintenance — In this stage, people work to sustain the habits they have formed in the action stage. The person has a set budget each month and is always looking for new ways to save (coupons, cooking at home instead of eating out, etc.).
In this mode of action, change is not immediate. There is no miraculous 24-hour change as is expected in the “new year, new me” mindset. Rather, change occurs gradually, built upon good habits and with room for error. We are human, after all. It takes us a while to learn, including learning how to improve ourselves.
It isn’t possible to become an entirely new person when the calendar flips and we start a new year. But it is possible to make small changes to build up good habits and become better versions of the people we already are.