New Year, New Me, Right?

New Year’s is a holiday that is essentially recognized by everyone, and while not everybody may celebrate it, there are a plethora of ways to do so for the people who do. For those of us in America, this may look like gathering at Times Square to watch the annually anticipated ball drop (where bathrooms are absent, so the use of adult diapers is recommended), watching the countdown from home with family ready to light some fireworks of our own, and maybe even huddling under a table to eat 12 grapes at midnight. Celebrations look different for everyone, but where everyone can find common ground is with New Year’s resolutions.

“New year, new me” is a phrase that gets thrown around often at this time of year being birthed by the idea that if the year is to be renewed, then one should renew themselves and become better. Typical resolutions that people make are about health (eat less junk food, exercise, etc.), wealth (save money/spend less money), and self-growth (meditating, learning a new hobby, etc.), things that help you to lead happier lives. According to a study made by Pew Research Center, around 30% of Americans decided to create New Year’s resolutions, with the number fluctuating between age groups as younger adults had an average of 1 in 2 people make at least one resolution for the new year.

That being said, just because a resolution is made, that doesn’t mean it is set in stone, it takes a lot of effort and determination to maintain which many tend to lack when it comes to their resolutions. Studies show that by the end of the first week, 25% of people who made resolutions have already failed to stick to it, with this number increasing to 40% by the end of the first month. People inevitably break their resolutions with only as little as 10% of people being successful at the end of the year. Reasons for this can be setting goals that are unrealistic like saving up a million dollars when your job doesn’t pay that much. Extreme goals like this also differ from our usual lives, making it difficult to adhere to.

The easiest solution to this is to just make small goals for yourselves, if it helps, you can also underestimate your abilities just enough so that you don’t end up being mad at yourself for being unable to live up to your expectations. Anyways, if you’ve made a New Year’s resolution for yourself, try your best to keep it.