A Resolutional Letdown

Why New Year’s Resolutions Are Unsuccessful

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

As the 2023 year comes to an end, friends and families join to celebrate entering a new year together. Looking back upon the year, memories were shared and the struggles that had been pushed through were recognized, allowing change to occur within everyone. With a new year comes new beginnings and goals that try to be achieved throughout the next 12 months. While New Year’s resolutions bring entertainment, the abundance of outrageous and unrealistic intentions does more harm than good to many individuals, racking up several disadvantages to the whole scheme.

One of the many reasons why New Year’s resolutions don’t go as planned is simply because they’re impractical. When brainstorming ideas about what to implement into one’s lifestyle, many individuals design long-term goals that are too unrealistic and difficult to achieve in only 12 months. Additionally, this just limits one’s ability to accomplish a set goal and usually ends in failure out of frustration. According to Forbes, “80% of people ditch their New Year’s resolutions by February.” Seeing how most of us abandon the resolutions that were put in place in such a short time span, shows how unattainable they were from the start.

Another factor that leads to failing New Year’s resolutions is the lack of passion for one’s goals. When January rolls around, the concept of considering certain habits that one would like to stop in the upcoming year with friends and family may sound ideal, but in reality, is only setting us up to fail. As humans, the likes, or dislikes that one has usually revolve around one’s peers. Therefore, individuals may make a resolution in spite of what others want rather than their own needs, and the likelihood of success drops. You must have the desire and motivation to complete a resolution, and the absence of this almost always leaves one in defeat.

Although there are several attributes that make New Year’s resolutions insignificant, it does provide people with a sense of purpose and hope into the new year. They bring families together during the holidays and enlighten us about the hard work that is needed in order to successfully accomplish a resolution. However, the amusement that comes with making a New Year’s resolution quickly dies off, and the joy disappears. This leaves individuals disappointed and saddened which could have all been avoided in the beginning.

While the New Year gives us the opportunity for a fresh start, allowing New Year’s resolutions to dictate how one should go about their life is not the answer. Resolutions hold individuals back from realizing their true potential and moreover, start the year off on a negative tone which isn’t good for anyone. With the number of disadvantages that New Year’s resolutions bring to the holidays, it is better to go about the year one step at a time and to really think about what is best for the lifestyle that one would like to embrace.