New year’s resolutions are a popular tradition across the United States where individuals set personal goals so they can grow, change, and have a fresh start for the new year.
Whether it is adopting healthier habits, learning new skills, or achieving specific milestones, resolutions serve as a motivating reminder to strive for improvement. Though challenging to maintain for some, resolutions offer a sense of purpose and a framework for personal development throughout the year.
The making of resolutions at the start of a new year dates back to the ancient Babylonians around 4,000 years ago. They would promise their gods to pay debts they owed and return borrowed objects in the coming year.
According to research, around 40% to 45% of Americans set new year’s resolutions, but only about 8% successfully achieve them. With all of this information, do new year’s resolutions really matter?
Senior Robert Babin had this to say about whether or not resolutions matter. “I didn’t make specific resolutions for 2025 because I feel like they typically only last like a month at most, and it can be discouraging when you feel like you failed to follow through with something consistently” Babin said.
Dean of Students Reilly Campbell has a different stance on resolutions. He prefers to call his new year’s resolutions his “goals or benchmarks” to accomplish. These goals are no different to what new year’s resolutions might look like, except goals feel more satisfying when you complete them.
One main reason I think why most people tend to pull away from their new year’s resolutions is because the resolution they set does not necessarily align with their primary focuses in life. It makes people feel that they have to pull away from their normal life just to fulfill this resolution.
I think that some people just make their resolutions too unrealistic. Everyone has such busy lives that sometimes, no matter what people do, it won’t be enough or they might not have enough time to accomplish what they want to accomplish.
Starting with smaller goals and working your way up to larger goals is more beneficial for most people.
