Disco lights groove along the walls of my living room. There––almost lost amongst singing and chanting, almost swallowed up by the clinking of glittery flutes––rests a promise.

A new year, a fresh start, a blank slate. 

I am not sure what it all means, but I do know I am ready for it. 

Later, soothed by a few regained hours of rest, I sit at my desk and uncap a pen. I am a goal–oriented person and the new year presents a prime incentive for change. With a bookmark on the last chapter, it’s easier to put the next one into perspective. 

As I jot down goals (sleep eight hours, drink the prescribed 2.7 liters of water, finally develop a perfect work-life balance), though, I feel a sense of deja vu. I’ve been here before: at this desk, with this pen, writing down the same goals. And a realization hits me then, with all the grace of a misfired confetti popper and the badly-synced countdown broadcast on the living room TV. 

New Year’s resolutions don’t work––for me, and for most people I have discussed this with. Time after time, year after year, we limp back to the drawing board with tired, worn-down promises and expect something different. It is Einstein’s very definition of insanity. 

Though I am not an expert on the intricacies of human behavior, this year I finally think I understand the brains behind it all. Or rather, the lack of brains. 

First: new year, new me. Seemingly innocuous, the phrase implies one of the main problems with New Year’s resolutions. When we make goals, we strive for a new, perfect self. Key word: perfect. The culture surrounding resolutions demands a perfect regimen, which gets increasingly difficult to deal with under a heavy load of self-imposed pressure. 

Perfectionism doesn’t lead to productivity. This is commonly known, but when the idea is bundled up in a palatable way, it is easy to forget. Therefore, the first step to making successful resolutions this year is accepting less than your best.

As you strive to reach greater heights, do not be surprised if you fall down a few times. Be forgiving and find your way back to your goal even if you sometimes stray from it. Accept that you’re not going to become a new person, you’re just trying to be a better one. 

Now, you are on the right track to achieving your goals. You are cruising along the path of self-improvement and stopping to fill up for gas when the tank runs low. 

As we all know, though, gas costs money––effort, in this case. After a few skittering stops, it might start to occur to you that maybe you do not really need to get to your destination. 

Quick! Before you give up, take a look at your goals. Ask yourself why you made them and why you decided you were going to stick with them. Was it just because it was a new year? Here’s something I have learned: you cannot be a new person just because the countdown ended. 

My why was opportunity. 

I am in the second semester of my senior year, which is commonly accepted to be one of the most peaceful times of one’s high school career. This is quite clearly the best year to start getting a full night’s sleep and achieving a great work-life balance, especially since I had erroneously convinced myself I could not during the first three years of high school. 

And, of course, I received that crisp white water bottle for Christmas. After years of dehydration caused by a refusal to drink from communal water fountains and a stubborn forgetfulness for keeping my own bottle full during the school day, I am now in an ideal place to achieve peak hydration status. 

So, as I traced my glittery gel pen across a neon sticky note (garish, but definitely hard to ignore), I resolved that this would be the year of productive resolutions. Not perfect, because I’m a night owl and the delayed effect of staying up until four in the morning on the first day of the year took a few days to subside, but productive. I would keep taking steps towards the promises I made myself, even if the journey seemed neverending. 

Anyway, the best promises are ones you can actually keep. 

Follow Saniya (@SaniyaKoppikar) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.