Most everybody is aware of what a New Year’s resolution is. It is a promise one makes to themselves as the calendar shifts from one year into the next. Making a New Year’s resolution has been a typical occurrence for so many generations that many people aren’t sure where the tradition began.
It is rumored that the ancient Babylonians from approximately 4,000 years ago were the first culture to start making New Year’s resolutions. They were also the first culture recorded to celebrate New Year’s, even though their year began in March instead of January when the crops were planted.
They held a 12-day religious festival known as Akitu where they crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king. They also promised the Gods that they would pay their debts and return any borrowed objects. It is believed that these promises were the forerunners of the modern day New Year’s resolutions.
Babylonians believed that if they stuck to their promise that the Gods would bestow favor on them for the coming year. If not, then they would fall out of favor with the Gods.
After Julius Caesar changed the calendar and made the year begin on January 1, Romans had a similar practice for celebrating the new year. The month of January was named after the two-faced God, Janus, whose spirit inhabited doorways and arches. They believed that Janus symbolized looking backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future. Romans offered sacrifices to Janus and made promises of good conduct for the upcoming year.
In the early Christian days, January 1 became a traditional time for one to reflect on their past mistakes and resolve to do better moving forward. English clergyman John Wesley, found of Methodism, created the Covenant Renewal Service in 1740. It was typically celebrated on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. It included scripture reading and hymn singing and served as a spiritual alternative to the debauchery usually associated with New Year’s Eve. Many Protestant churches still spend New Year’s praying and making resolutions.
In current times, resolutions are less for religious reasons and more for the individual. The individual typically makes a promise to themselves. Even though millions of people make New Year’s resolutions, research shows that only approximately 8% of those people actually follow through and complete them.
Many people wish for things like love, peace and prosperity. However, some get more focused on theirs.
Jack said his is to not spend so much on items he doesn’t really need. Julie made a promise to take better care of herself. She said that she needs to focus on self-care because she is “her own worst enemy.”
Corina said she promised to finish one small project. She said it doesn’t matter which project, just one that she will completely finish.
Donnie used the rough time he had in 2024 to shape his resolution for 2025.
“Finalizing divorce. I want to learn how to be a single dad and be amazing at it,” he said. “I have to learn to live on my own, be the best dad I can for 50% of my time and rediscover myself the other 50%. This has included meeting new friends, making new memories, finding new hobbies. Promoting my happiness outside of being a husband and outside of being a father.”
Toni said hers is to “show more grace to others and more importantly to myself. We all fall short.”
Judy promised not to let drama suck her in and get to her. Stacey promised to allow herself to heal from previous trauma.
Carrie said she is focused less on the resolution part, and focusing more on actual attainable goals for both her and her new marriage. She is focused on her finances, travel, family, friends, house, health, job, marriage and hobbies.
Even though it is a tradition to make a New Year’s resolution, it also seems to be tradition to fail. Research shows that between 85-90% of the people who make a resolution doesn’t even make it till the end of January.
Many researchers believe that people fail at completing their resolutions because the resolutions rely on willpower and require deprivation. The first part of keeping a resolution takes willpower.
Many resolutions like “I’m going to stop eating sugar” or “I’m going to exercise more” strictly rely on willpower. Willpower can be a powerful tool in our arsenal, but the problem with is that it is fleeting. It ebbs and flows throughout the day and is often MIA when needed most.
Typically, people can rely on their willpower early in the morning because their “willpower bank” is at capacity. However, as one navigates the day, they tend to get “decision fatigue”, which is when one grows tired of constantly making decisions.
Deprivation is another reason that resolutions typically fail. It is when a person decides to deprive themselves of certain things they have become accustomed to like sugar or carbs.
The downfall to this approach is that that human brain is hardwired to seek pleasure and avoid pain or heartache.
Keep in mind that eating the sugar or carbs was a habit that developed over many weeks of eating them. This means to change; one must make it a habit.
Researchers found that there are ways one can change their behavior to make keeping their New Year’s resolution easier.
Be Specific Instead of thinking on the broad spectrum and saying things like “I’m going to eat less sugar” or “I’m going to work out more,” be more specific on the goals. Figure out what sugar really is. Plan to cut out certain sugars. That way, the brain knows there’s an obtainable goal.
Once you define your goal, you can make the plan to reach it. Figure out what to eat in place of the sugars that are being cut out of the diet.
Think Small
Oftentimes, resolutions are typically thoughts of grandeur. One will resolve to lose 80 lbs. in the year. However, this is an unobtainable goal. Instead, set the goal to lose 20 lbs. If you reach the first goal of 20 lbs., then raise the bar.
One must also make a plan to obtain the goal. Write out a list of things to do that will help in the weight loss journey like an exercise plan or a diet. This makes the discomfort from the diet less of an issue and easier to overcome.
Be Smart
Be sure to work with your brain instead of against it. When making goals, try to make the goals line up with how the brain is wired. Once one learns how their brain is wired and makes a plan that goes with it instead of against it, then keeping the resolution tends to become easier.