New Year Resolutions and How to Make Them

Mastering New Year’s Resolutions: Strategies for Success

New Year resolutions are the perfect opportunity for those who have yet to begin making the changes they’ve always desired. Some of the most popular resolutions include becoming a better person, losing weight, exercising more, eating healthier, quitting bad habits such as smoking, watching less TV, and making more money. However, the problem with New Year resolutions is that, most of the time, people fail to fulfill them because they do not follow specific steps in choosing and formulating achievable goals.

History: The Origin of New Year Resolutions

The first recorded instance of New Year resolutions dates back to the Babylonians. According to Wikipedia, the Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.

In Ancient Rome, a similar ritual was practiced. The Romans offered sacrifices and made promises of good conduct for the coming year to Janus, a god with two heads who symbolically looked back into the previous year and ahead into the future. The month of January takes its name from Janus.

With the advent of Christianity, some religious practices involved making resolutions. For instance, during the medieval era, knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas season each year to reaffirm their commitment to chivalry. Additionally, in some Christian traditions, at watch night services held on New Year’s Eve, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions.

In Jewish traditions, during Judaism’s New Year, Jews reflect upon their wrongdoings over the year and seek both forgiveness and offer it.

Nowadays, the practice of making New Year resolutions has become more secular. Instead of making promises to the gods, most people make resolutions for themselves, aiming to reflect upon themselves and seek self-improvement.

New Year Resolutions Facts

Although many people are motivated to make resolutions to become better individuals, most of them fail to achieve their goals. In a 2014 report, 35% of participants who failed their New Year resolutions admitted they had unrealistic goals, 33% didn’t keep track of their progress, and 23% forgot about them; about one in 10 respondents claimed they made too many resolutions.

Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol conducted research involving 3,000 people. It demonstrated that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, although 52% of the study’s participants were confident of success at the beginning. Men achieved their goals 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, wherein resolutions are made in terms of small and measurable goals (e.g., “lose a pound a week” rather than “lose weight”).

How to Make Better New Year Resolutions?

Most people fail to achieve their resolutions because they haven’t chosen the right goals. These goals are often too vague or unrealistic. Researchers claim that to have favorable chances of success, goals should follow the SMART tool, an acronym coined in the journal Management Review in 1981 for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. It is very helpful to set your resolutions according to this tool.

1. Specific: Resolutions have to be clear. Instead of saying you want to make more money, it would be better to specify how much money you want to make. It is more effective to be concrete in setting goals.
2. Measurable: A measurable goal is one that has a very clear definition of success and a target you can measure. There should be concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of the goal. For example, if you want to save money, ask yourself: how much money exactly do I want to save each month? You can start with saving $100 or $150 and scale your savings according to your income.
3. Achievable: Trying to take unrealistic steps can be detrimental. For instance, deciding to save enough money to retire in five years when you’re 20 years old is probably not realistic, but saving an extra $100 a month may be.
4. Relevant: When setting objectives for yourself, consider whether they are relevant to you. Every one of your goals ought to align with your values, qualities, and bigger objectives. Questions you may ask yourself are: is this goal worthwhile? Does it go hand in hand with other efforts and needs? For example, if you have to pay off a large amount of debt and you have a low income, it may not be the right time to start saving money.
5. Time-bound: Time-bound goals mean that they are completed within a specific time frame. This provides some pressure to consistently work on a goal.

Goals Are Not Enough

Goals are excellent for giving a sense of direction, but they’re definitely not enough. In his book “Atomic Habits,” James Clear stresses the importance of creating systems. For example, if you’re a coach, your goal might be to win a championship. Your system is the way you recruit players, manage your assistant coaches, and conduct practice. For a person who wants to become a musician, their goal might be to play a new piece. Their system is how often they practice, how they break down and tackle difficult measures.

According to James Clear, if you simply overlook your goals and focus only on your system, would you still make it? For example, if you were a basketball coach and you ignored your goal to win a championship and focused only on what your team does to practice each day, would you still get positive outcomes? The answer is yes. Focusing on what you have to do each day can lead you to success. That is why systems are important for developing good habits.