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South Jordan Journal

How some South Jordan residents plans to keep their New Year’s resolutions

Feb 07, 2022 02:55PM ● By Rachel Aubrey

By Rachel Aubrey| [email protected]

The beginning of the new year means the ushering in of all the New Year’s resolutions. 

The idea of making new resolutions each year signifies that we might want to try a little harder in certain areas of our lives. Setting goals and making resolutions are the easy part; sticking to the goals and resolutions can often leave us feeling disappointed and defeated. Some of the following residents shared ways that they find helpful in goal and resolution keeping.

South Jordan resident Jody Treu is a health and wellness educator and has seen her fair share of people making resolutions and not being able to see them through.

“I love to help people see that they can set New Year’s Resolutions,” Treu said. “It seems that people write an entire list of things to do by March (or even the end of January), and 98% of their goals aren’t even looked at or realized, and they give up.”

Treu said that she is a fan of the SMART goal setting tactic as a means of keeping on track to achieving resolutions. SMART stands for: 

  • specific, 
  • measurable, 
  • achievable, 
  • realistic, and 
  • anchored within a time frame. 

According to Katrina Wagner from Happify Daily, the easiest way to stick to your resolution is to start simple. Wagner went on to explain that goals should hold meaning and allow for compassion and grace for the goal setter. 

“Giving yourself a leg up on your resolutions is to set goals that are realistic, measurable and yes, flexible,” said Wagner.

Realistic goals are something that Nancy Tanner said help her to accomplish her New Year’s resolutions. A Utah native, Tanner has discovered that her passions include sewing, home decor, repurposing items, creating memorable pieces and meditation. Her goal for 2022 is to become a small-business owner, selling items she creates. And she has already started taking the necessary steps in achieving her goal.

“I now have a dedicated space in my home to work on projects that can be left out for long periods of time,” Tanner said. “With this new space I will have room for all of the tools needed to create.”

In addition to a dedicated creative and physical space, Tanner makes it a point to write things out in a journal. Seeing things written out helps to keep her accountable. 

It’s also helpful for Daybreak resident Keila Mower. Mower is the founder of the Daybreak STEM club. This busy volunteer and activist said the process of writing things out helps her to recognize her main goals. She is then able to divide the main goals into smaller achievements. Each month is a smaller goal that will eventually lead her to the overall resolution.

“The idea for me is to schedule one activity per month to reinforce my main goal,” Mower said.

As idyllic as it is to make monthly goals for the new year, sometime more is required to achieve goals, more time that is. Long-term goals can get a bad reputation in so much that it takes longer than a typical year time frame. Higher education for example takes more than a year, it could take up to four years or more.

Communications manager for LiveDaybreak Robert Stroud has been working on his Master of Business Administration at Weber State off and on since beginning 2018. Taking a year off due to COVID has pushed his goal back in a way that was out of his control. 

“I’ve been doing what I can when I can,” Stroud said.

In addition to being a husband and father, Stroud nevertheless has his eye on the end result. His goal is still present his mind. He will finish his remaining classes just as quickly as circumstances will allow.

Whatever the tips and suggestions might be for achieving your New Year’s resolutions, it may help to remember how the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg felt.

“So often in life things you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune,” she said.