Hello!

Happy New Year—I hope you had a fun, celebratory holiday, whether you like to stay up all night or go to bed early.

Having turned the corner on another year, did you decide to set New Year’s resolutions or goals for yourself in 2025?

Do you even like setting resolutions?

According to research from Columbia University, about half of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but only about 25% of those people stay committed to their resolutions for 30 days and less than 10% actually complete their goals.

It makes sense that at the start of a new year we might reflect on the last 12 months and wonder what we could do differently or feel more motivated to implement a change when things feel new and fresh.

However, setting New Year’s goals has also become part of the cultural zeitgeist and there can sometimes be a sense of pressure to set resolutions. In fact a 2023 survey of 1,000 adults by Forbes Health found that 60% felt obligated to set New Year’s resolutions.

That might actually help to explain why many of us are not sticking with our new goals.

Why is that?

Well, when the going gets tough, which it inevitably will when we’re trying to build a new habit or make change, we’re more likely to face feelings of resentment and frustration if we’re only doing this thing because other people think it’s a good idea or because it seems like something we should be doing.

Whereas, if we can get clear on our why, or the reason for making the change, then we’re more likely to be internally motivated, which will help to reinforce perseverance and resilience when we want to scrap the goal or push it off till next year.

For example, let’s says you set a resolution to exercise more, and it’s because you want to feel healthier, or keep up with your grandkids, or because you know it helps improve your mood, you can use whatever that reason is as a reward.

In other words, once you start to feel healthier or notice that your mood has improved, then you’re more likely to stay committed to your goal because you’re noticing the effects, and it feels good.

That’s not to say that knowing your why is going to make working toward the goal effortless, but it can make it a whole lot easier.

Getting clear on your why usually takes some time and reflection, though, and it may not always line up with the start of a new year. So, as an alternative, you can always elect to the take the pressure off yourself and skip the annual resolutions or make them at a time when it feels organic to you.

Before you go! Wanted to share a couple of quick newsletter updates:

• Going forward, the newsletter is going to be affiliated with my coaching practice. There shouldn’t be any drastic changes to the content but wanted to let you know that there may be mentions of coaching offerings from time to time.
  
  If that’s not for you, totally get it! Otherwise, would love to have you stick around 😄 
  

• Instead of weekly, the newsletter will come out a little less frequently. Not sure what that’s going to look like, yet, but probably closer to twice a month.

Additional Takes on Resolutions

“The Pros and Cons of Setting New Years Resolutions” via Stella Nova

“New Year, Same You—and That’s OK” via Mental Health First Aid

“The Psychology Behind Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail” via VeryWell Mind