The start of the new year is a time people reflect on the past and make resolutions for what they want to accomplish in the future. But have you ever wondered why people only make resolutions at the start of a new year? Why can I not make a resolution in May? When did people start making New Year’s resolutions? What makes a resolution different from a goal? Does anyone even complete them?

           First, let’s define a resolution. If you look up resolution in Merriam-Webster, six different definitions are shown, most with sub-definitions. None of those definitions really help define the word in the context of New Year’s resolutions. At its core, resolution means to resolve. Basically, a New Year’s resolution is something you plan to resolve or make a firm decision about in the new year. 

           New Year’s resolutions started with the Babylonians around 4,000 years ago, even though their new year was in mid-March. Their resolutions were to honor their king and their gods. The ancient Romans also celebrated the new year, now in January, after Julius Caesar made January 1st the start of the year. January is named after the god Janus, who symbolically both looked at the future and the past at the same time. Christians also thought about their past mistakes and pledge to do better in the coming year, even creating a service dedicated to looking back and forward in 1740. Now, New Year’s resolutions are non-secular, but more of a Western practice. 

           Resolutions and goals sound like the same things, but there are some key differences between them. A goal is a desired result a person wants to achieve. A goal can be about anything. Goals can be short or long term and culminate at a certain point. A resolution is just a promise to do better throughout the whole of the next year. Resolutions are to help change your current way of life. This explains why the term is only used at the start of the new year. 

           We all know the joke about New Year’s resolutions and how nobody completes them, and, sadly, that is true. A research study by Statistic Brain Research Institute in 2018 concluded that only 8% of people completed their New Year’s resolutions, out of the 45% of people who regularly set them. Why can no one seem to complete their resolutions? 33% say it is because they set unrealistic goals for themselves. Many also lose track of their goals or completely forget about them. Yet, research in 1995 found that 46% of people who set goals at the start of January versus any other time of the year were ten times more likely to complete them. Also, a 2007 study found that 22% of people complete their goals if they break them into smaller, more manageable parts. 

           So, there is some hope for you completing those resolutions you were possibly forced into making. Just think of them as goals, break them down into reasonable, manageable parts, and persevere. And don’t feel too bad when you don’t complete them by the end of the year, you are definitely not alone.