Thoughts: New Year's Resolutions

Resolutions can be useful, but the New Year's model doesn't work.

January 03, 2025

I’m excited to be back to writing after the holidays and being under the weather. Happy New Year to all of you!

I’ve been told that I “downplay” the New Year holiday. I recognize the importance of the turn of the calendar, but feel it’s dominated by attempts of New Year’s Resolutions. To be clear, I’m all for reflecting and spending the end of the year in thought but think it can be a bit more focused. I’ll explain below.

According to an article published by Baylor College of Medicine, “studies show that 88 percent of people who set New Year resolutions fail them within the first two weeks.” Source: New Year's resolutions: Why do we give up on them so quickly?

Think about your life an entire year ago. For most, it’s almost impossible to even remember the way it was. 365 days might fly by, but it’s a really long time. The thought that I am going to dive into a new habit and do it consistently for an entire year isn’t even a fair expectation of myself. It is overwhelming, which causes the below…

Being overwhelmed → increases the chance of inaction.

The past year, I’ve heard multiple people talk about focusing on the week at hand and asking “what progress did I make this week?” A week is much more tangible and approachable than a year, which makes it…

  1. Easier to plan and organize

  2. Easier to build momentum on

This creates consistency. Overarching goals for the year ahead are great, but it’s the weekly behavior that gets us there.

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