Jan. 19, 2024
By Amerie Diaz
Staff Writer
The beginning of a new year often brings the desire for change and self-improvement, leading many to set New Year’s resolutions.
However, according to U.S. News and World Report, 80% of people fail to keep resolutions by mid-February. The fact that only 20% of people stick to their New Year’s resolutions long-term proves they are ineffective.
The main reason New Year’s resolutions fail is that they are unreasonable, and the people who create them often lack effort and commitment.
People tend to give up on their resolutions when they do not see immediate improvement, so it is essential to have the right mindset when working toward them. Rather than seeing setbacks as complete failures, they should be viewed as improvement opportunities.
Furthermore, New Year’s resolutions are usually too vague. According to the global media company Forbes and international market research agency OnePoll, the most common resolutions address improvements in diet, finances, fitness, mental health and weight. Yet without a distinct path to accomplish these goals, they can be daunting.
For instance, the most popular New Year’s resolution is to exercise more. According to the health and fitness association IHRSA, more than 12% of gym members join in the new year, but within six months, 80% of them quit.
Resolutions like this are unsuccessful because there is not a clear definition of what exercising more means. It is better to be more specific such as pledging to go to the gym weekly. This way, progress can be tracked periodically, which makes it easier to stay motivated.
Rather than seeing setbacks as complete failures, they should be viewed as improvement opportunities.
Another reason New Year’s resolutions fall short is that people create them due to tradition or influence from members of their social group rather than a genuine desire for positive change. In the Forbes/OnePoll survey, 62% of respondents said they felt pressured to set a New Year’s resolution. As a result, soon after they are created, these resolutions are left to gather dust.
Additionally, New Year’s resolutions are generally viewed with an all-or-nothing mindset.
For example, people might believe they have already failed if they miss out on a week of going to the gym or eating healthier, which causes them to ditch their resolutions entirely. This idea is untrue, though, as missing a couple of weeks out of a year-long objective should not be a reason to give up.
Overall, people need to change how they envision and pursue their New Year’s resolutions.
If resolutions remain as they are now, most people will continue to abandon them, rendering them pointless. It is still important to develop goals throughout the year, but, sadly, New Year’s resolutions set people up for failure.
