So it’s that time of year when you are thinking about your New Year’s resolutions and you’ve heard about this thing call a “New Year’s resolutions essay”. Now you’re asking yourself what a New Year’s resolution essay even is, if you should write a New Year resolution essay, and how to even go about it if you wanted to.
Or maybe you’re a school student and your teacher has tasked you with writing about your New Year resolutions for school, or you are a college student and your professor has asked you to stand up in front of the class and talk about your New Year resolutions for college.
Well, never fear, because this post will tell you exactly what a New Year’s resolutions essay is and how you should go about writing one if you are convinced to (or have to!) do so.
And, non-students out there, do not leave this page thinking it is just for students, because you couldn’t be more wrong. As I hope to convince you of, a New year’s resolution essay can be a powerful thing for adults and students alike.
What Is a New Year’s Resolutions Essay?
A New Year’s resolutions essay is simply an essay that someone writes at the end of the year or beginning of the year, talking about what they learnt from the previous year and what they want to commit to doing the next year.
The New Year is often a time where people reflect on what they have and have not achieved, what they are happy about, what they are unhappy about, and what they want to change going forwards. A New Year resolution essay simply puts those thoughts in to an essay format that is either written, printed, posted online, or spoken by way of a speech.
People often use them as a way to keep themselves accountable in the year ahead. They post them online, give them to friends, put them on the wall and even on the fridge in order to give themselves the pressure of making the resolutions public. This is actually a very effective tactic to stick to your resolutions as the external pressure keeps you accountable purely from wanting to avoid embarrassment.
What is the Purpose of a New Year’s Resolution Essay?
The purpose of a New Year resolutions essay is to get someone to really think about what they did over the last year and how they want to adjust going in to the next year. If you are at school or college and have been tasked with writing a New Year’s resolutions essay and think it is just a boring, pointless chore, I implore you to take it seriously and use the opportunity to think about your life and what you want for it.
Although arbitrary in its date, taking stock of what you have and haven’t done, what you have and haven’t achieved over the last year compared to your goals, and how you might want to improve or adjust going forwards can be an extremely powerful thing. After all, what gets measured gets managed, meaning if you take stock of where you are, or where you are not, with your goals or personal development, you have an easier time adjusting to make sure you get back on track or stay focused if you already are so.
If you are keen on personal development and self-improvement, then a New Year’s resolution essay should be something you keep in your toolkit. Ideally you would be taking stock of where you’re at throughout the year, but if you’re just getting started with personal development or have fallen off the wagon with it of late, then a New Year resolution essay could be a great place to (re)start.
Why You Should Write a New Year Resolution Essay
You should write a New Year resolution essay because, as mentioned, it can be a really powerful tool to help you make sure you are living the life you desire. Think about it – if you are forced to sit down and actually take stock of what you did over the last year, you will be confronted with the thoughts of what you wanted to achieve when you thought about this same topic the year before and whether you actually achieved those things. Although confronting and uncomfortable, you can use that as an opportunity to make adjustments and new, better plans for this year.
Or maybe it will give you the chance to look book and realise you absolutely rocked it, nailing all your goals and then some. So maybe your essay will help instil more confidence in you and help you think about the even greater things you can achieve in the next year.
This is a great opportunity for personal reflection – something most people don’t do. This could be a way to make sure you have the best year next year. This essay could be your chance to make new goals, new targets, and new promises to yourself.
How to Write a New Year Resolutions Essay
How to Get Ideas for a New Year’s resolution essay
The best way to write a New Year resolutions essay is to self-reflect. Think back on your year and what you are glad you did and what you regret not doing. Then think how you wish you had behaved or where you feel you did well. Those things will likely point towards your resolutions or at least give you some ideas on what your resolutions could be.
You could also read other people’s resolutions online, getting ideas from what they have said. Perhaps there is an actor, athlete, politician, or other public figure you are a fan of. How do they act? How do they carry themselves in public? What do you like about them? Would you like to be similar to them in any way? This could also give you ideas on what your resolutions might be.
Did you witness something that upset you or inspired you during the year? Have you read something that made you think deeply? What was it about those things that made you feel that way? Every situation you have been in or witnessed affected you in some way. What ways were you affected? How you feel about those things could point you towards your resolutions in regards to the kind of person you want to be and how you want to act.
Perhaps you’ve been thinking about making a career change lately. Maybe you hate your job and want to move on. What could you do and how could you act over the next year that will help you move in to a career or field you want to do? Do you like your job and want to do better and get promoted? What resolutions could you have that will make you stand out to your boss?
Have you been working hard enough at school or college, or have you been slacking off? Have you been taking part in extra-curricular activities and want to do more, or have you been keeping yourself isolated and regret it?
Do you keep making the same mistakes in love or with your diet? Do you want to get in shape, exercise more, and make sure you eat the right things going forwards?
In essence, think about where you are unhappy, dissatisfied, or wanting to improve in life. Those things can point to possible resolutions. On the other hand, think where you feel you are doing well, where you have succeeded and excelled. Do you want to make resolutions to improve those things even further or simply to make sure your are continuing to do those things?
Tips for students: if you are looking for some inspiration to come up with your New Year resolutions, you should check out this post on The Best New Year Resolutions to Help Students Succeed.
Writing a New Year’s resolution essay
Do you want your essay to be short – one you can simply stick up on the fridge and look at quickly every morning? Perhaps bullet points are the way forwards for you.
Do you do better and connect more when you get deep in to something? Maybe you want to write something longer-form or even a full-blown manifesto if you think that would help you!
There are no rights or wrongs when it comes to your New Year resolution essay. The point is to write something that makes you think, means something to you and is something you want to stick to.
The most usual way to write an essay is to write an opening statement – what you propose to say in your essay, the argument you are going to make, where you are going to take your audience – then make your points – in this case, talk about what you learnt about yourself over the last year and how you would like to adjust or improve over the next year – then make your conclusion – a short summary and ending to what you have said.
When Should I Write My New Year Resolution Essay?
You should write your New Year resolution essay when you are in the best frame of mind to do it, when you can give it the most dedication. You should also try and write it as close to New Year’s Eve as possible, as this will mean you can take full stock of year you just had and start fresh the next day – on New Year’s Day – having just written your New Year’s resolutions essay.
You may choose to write it with a friend, write it alone, with loud, inspirational music on, or in a quiet room only lit with candles. However you do it, just be sure to put your full focus on it in order to get the most benefit.
Conclusion
When it comes to writing your New Year’s resolutions essay, remember that this could be a really good opportunity to improve your life, to make sure you are going after your dreams, to make sure you aren’t wasting your life or wasting your time as you go through the year, so that you avoid feeling like a failure again if that is a pattern for you and that you feel successful throughout the year as you stick to your resolutions and achieve your goals.
Use this opportunity to make this your best New Year ever… no… your best YEAR ever. Go in to January with your essay in hand. Put it on the fridge, share it online, do whatever your must to make sure the resolutions you made stay in the forefront of your mind throughout the year (and not just the first few weeks of January). And then make sure you act on and stick to those resolutions.
Further Reading
If you agree that writing a New Year’s resolutions essay might help you in your goal to be successful in life, you may also like to read about the 7 steps of how to get success in life.
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