As December comes to an end, many people are starting to think about the upcoming year and what the future holds for them. To many this means they start thinking about what resolutions and goals to focus on for the next year as the current year comes to an end. Every year, 73% of people in the US make new year’s resolutions for the upcoming year, and many people have made setting these yearly goals a tradition.

The top ten most common resolutions (that often result in failure) include working out more often, losing weight, eating healthier, stopping procrastination, spending less money, being more productive, getting over an ex, quitting smoking, being less stressed, and breaking a bad habit. 

The beginning of the new year often is viewed as a new fresh start or a beginning of a new chapter in someone’s life. While millions of people all around the world make New Year’s resolutions, many fail to uphold the goals throughout the entire year.  According to a study done by the University of Scranton, after the first week of the new year, 75% of people who make new year’s resolutions are still successful; however as time goes on, the percentage of success lowers significantly. By the end of six months, 46% are still keeping to their goals, and by the end of the year only 8% of people who made new year’s resolutions actually achieved the goals they set at the beginning of the year.

New Year’s resolutions, while they seem like a good idea, the truth is that they just set you up for failure and disappointment. One reason why new year’s resolutions are bound to fail is that often, people don’t set specific enough goals. It is challenging to stick to a goal when you are not sure how to go about achieving that goal. 

Another common problem that causes someone to not be able to accomplish their New Year’s Resolutions is their goals are too ambitious. It is good to be ambitious, but when you are creating new goals for yourself it’s important that you set realistic and achievable goals instead. While your idea might sound good at first, when you try to accomplish that goal, you will become overwhelmed. Resolutions that overwhelm you or cause added stress to your life are unsuccessful. 

Motivation and grit also play a huge role in rather a goal someone sets is going to be achieved or not. For example, if you set a new year’s resolution to spend less money, but you are not motivated or don’t have the willpower to follow through on that goal as you like to go shopping often, then you are not very likely to achieve your goal.  

Another issue with New Year’s Resolutions is they trick people into believing the only time they can set goals and make changes in their life is at the beginning of the year. As the saying goes “New year, new me”. You should not have to wait until the start of the new year to set reasonable goals and make changes in your life. If you are motivated to achieve something, you should start sooner than later. Also, if you start a resolution when you are prepared to, you are way more likely to actually achieve it. 

While new year’s resolutions often lead to failure and disappointment, if you decide to set a new year’s goal, it is important to plan out how you are going to accomplish your resolution and set yourself up for success instead of failure.