Many Americans are giving their New Year resolutions an unusual new twist
For many, the traditional resolutions to lose weight and eat healthier are gone
Generally most New Year’s resolutions involve such goals as getting in shape, losing weight, or eating healthier. This year, however, most of us appear to be tired of the same-old, same-old New Year’s resolutions, which we soon break anyway.
Read More »We have resolved to boost our professional and our working lives in the year that lies ahead.
Doing so might take the form of returning to school, finding a new job, or working at getting a promotion.
Revealed in new survey
This new take on the old-age tradition of making New Year resolutions is revealed in a new survey of 2,000 Americans by OnePoll for Colorado State University Global campus.
A major reason behind the making of these unusual resolutions, according to the survey participants, is that they feel they are falling behind on their professional goals. They are therefore determined to do better in the year ahead—whatever it takes.
This trend is particularly true for millennials, more than two-thirds of whom have set resolutions regarding their professions rather than in other fields of life. Most of those millennials (aged 18 to 38) have set their top priorities on making new connections at work and improving the balance between their work and their daily lives in coming months.
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They also want to further their education and advance their skills.
More might join in
As the workforce changes, we might see more people setting goals in 2023 to advance their professional lives, says Pamela Toney, president of Colorado State University Global. For some the new way forward might be pivoting their career paths, earning a promotion, or continuing their education, she says.
Intentionally setting goals involving your career plans in the new year might prove to be the best way to go, Toney suggests. These goals are likely to be more practical to achieve than the other traditional resolutions. It also will provide lasting effects and be more fulfilling when the year ahead is over, she adds.
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Education, in particular, is a great way to place you on a new career path or to provide you with opportunities for promotion.
Closer look at resolutions
Here is a closer look at some of the approaches and resulting resolutions that were revealed in the survey:
• The average person is looking for a salary increase amounting to as much as 32% in the coming year.
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• A third of respondents said that learning the skills required at their present jobs is now more difficult than it was when they first started working on the job. Baby boomers are having the toughest time in this regard.
One in eight respondents admitted that they are not sure whether they would be hired now if they applied to the company for which they have been working for some time.
Clearly the standards and complexity of the work in many fields appears to have grown in recent years as technology advances. As it does, it is hitting the older workers the hardest.
• A fourth of the respondents said they believe that it would be tough for them to learn a new “hard” skill—technical skills you need in order to finish specific tasks—now.
This fear might be the reason, the researchers say, that four in every 10 respondents to the poll are resolving to advance their education in the new year. They intend to do so through a certificate or a new degree.
• Generally, respondents to the poll believe that they need to find ways to stay motivated in order to keep to their resolutions. They are determined to try to adopt and maintain a positive attitude and to hold themselves accountable.
Tips to stay motivated
Toney suggests that those who have made these work-related resolutions should adopt several methods to ensure that they are motivated throughout the coming year as they seek to keep to the resolutions:
• Write down your goals now. As the year advances and you make progress, record the milestones you pass along the way.
• Think about setting your resolutions with a friend, who can share resolutions with you. In that way you will keep each other accountable.
• Celebrate the small steps along the way as you progress on the longer journey. Doing so will go a long way toward helping you to achieve your ultimate goals.
