What I think about my chances of keeping a resolution
If you were expecting to read about some grand New Year’s resolution, you won’t find it here! The last one I made, which was decades ago, was to stop making any. I can’t be trusted with a resolution — something always comes along to help me break it. Allison Basile, a psychotherapist in Brunswick, might tell me it’s because my resolutions were only wishes.
“To simply have a desire to change does not mean you are ready to change,” says Allison. “Resolutions are wishes and may not be rooted in willingness to alter behaviors that are comfortable or comforting.”
I just took a moment to see what I wrote about resolutions last year. It turns out I actually made one to exercise my brain more. I forgot all about it, which means I either didn’t keep the resolution, or I need to start worrying about my memory. I think I won’t start worrying now. It’s New Year’s Eve and I only want to enjoy myself.
Before I go, I found some interesting statistics about New Year’s resolutions that you might enjoy.
| Rank | Top 10 New Years resolutions for 2012 |
|
1
|
Lose Weight |
|
2
|
Getting Organized |
|
3
|
Spend Less, Save More |
|
4
|
Enjoy Life to the Fullest |
|
5
|
Staying Fit and Healthy |
|
6
|
Learn Something Exciting |
|
7
|
Quit Smoking |
|
8
|
Help Others in Their Dreams |
|
9
|
Fall in Love |
|
10
|
Spend More Time with Family |
| News Years Resolution Statistics | Data |
| Percent of Americans who usually make New Year’s Resolutions | 45% |
| Percent of Americans who infrequently make New Year’s Resolutions | 17% |
| Percent of Americans who absolutely never make New Year’s Resolutions | 38% |
| Percent of people who are successful in achieving their resolution | 8% |
| Percent who have infrequent success | 49% |
| Percent who never succeed and fail on their resolution each year | 24% |
| People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions | |
| Type of Resolutions (Percent above 100% because of multiple resolutions) | Data |
| Self Improvement or education related resolutions | 47% |
| Weight related resolutions | 38% |
| Money related resolutions | 34% |
| Relationship related resolutions | 31% |
| Age Success Rates | Data |
| Percent of people in their twenties who achieve their resolution each year | 39% |
| Percent of people over 50 who achieve their resolution each year | 14% |
| Length of Resolutions | Data |
| Resolution maintained through first week | 75% |
| Past two weeks | 71% |
| Past one month | 64% |
| Past six months | 46% |
Source: University of Scranton. Journal of Clinical Psychology. Published: 12.13.2012
I hope you have a wonderful and happy start to the New Year. If you made any resolutions, I wish you success!
