New Year ’ s Resolutions ? Don ’ t Give Up Now
So , how are those New Year ’ s resolutions going ? Are you still on track ? Did you slip up in the past month ? Have you given up entirely ? Maybe it is time to renew those resolutions .
Let me start off by saying this article is not a research article but relies on several sources of information for general statistics regarding New Year ’ s resolutions ( a resolution could be to fact check those internet statements that you may have historically relied upon without confirming the veracity of the information ). I do not vouch for accuracy of the numbers but rather rely upon their general import to a discussion about maintaining and / or restoring the pursuit of resolutions .
Generally speaking , and based upon various sources ( including Forbes , Time Magazine , et al .), less than half of the American adult population adopts or creates New Year ’ s resolutions and that number , depending on the source of information , appears to have been on a decline since prior to 2020 . Two consistent statistics are :
� Roughly 80 % of those adopting resolutions abandon them by the start of February , and
� Only roughly 9 % make it through the end of the year
I am writing this on January 4 , so I haven ’ t had much time to abandon my resolutions ( more than one ), but based on the February statistic , I will have abandoned them by the time this article is published . I hope to be in the smaller group of the statistics .
The themes for New Year ’ s resolutions have been consistent year after year and can be generally placed into two categories :
� Living Healthier - includes eating better , drinking less or none at all , losing weight , working out more , undertaking new physical challenges , etc .
� Personal Improvement - includes being more productive at work , saving money , reading more , learning a new language , taking up a hobby , spending time with family , charitable activities , etc .
Unfortunately , little advance thought and / or planning is given to the resolutions ; rather , it is a general self-observation of a need or desire to make a change . When the resolutions require reversal of long ingrained habits , for example deciding to eat healthier after years of weekly pizzas and nightly bowls of ice cream , accomplishing them is no easy task . I ’ m not attempting to promote self-help books as one could spend most of one ’ s awake life attempting to get through them all ; however , an insight on habit forming and reforming can be found in
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg . Merely wanting to make a life change , as is reflected in a resolution , takes more than writing the resolution down on a piece of paper or in a notes file .
An interesting statistic I came across for this article is that nearly half of those making a resolution ( s ) actually expect to fail before the end of January when they make the resolution ( s ). There is no real expectation of change ; instead , the maker is hoping for a miracle to become someone different without giving any thought as to what that means or what it requires – if I ‘ resolve ’ to lose weight , I will lose 20 pounds before there end of the year without putting in the planning ( groceries , scheduling , etc .) to actually accomplish the goal . As great as that would be , it is simply unrealistic .
As a result of that unrealistic view and lack of planning , as stated before , most of you that made resolutions will likely have abandoned them by the time you are reading this article . The real purpose of this article is to encourage you to give them another shot . In considering renewing your resolutions , give consideration to your motivation for the resolutions in the first place . For example , if your motivation to work out more was to feel better and have more energy , is that still important to you ? On the other hand , for most of us at least , the motivation to look like Dwayne Johnson is probably neither realistic nor really that important . If the motivation for change remains , then look for ways to plan for success , including short-term and long-term goals , not being discouraged by setbacks , and looking to others to provide support . Just because it is February doesn ’ t mean you can ’ t get back on track . GOOD LUCK . �
THE DOCKET - FEBRUARY 2023 | 19