Why the New Year’s Resolutions?

Entering the New Year means something different depending who you ask. For some, it’s a fresh start for self-improvement; for others, it’s yet another excuse to spend more time with friends and family as the holiday season comes to a close; and for some people, it’s just another day and just a change from a 7 to an 8. The pressure to make life changes with a New Year’s resolution seems to still have a hold on half the country, in spite of repeated failures and small corners of success. According to a recent survey conducted by National Today, 55% of Americans made resolutions on 2018. Out of 1,000 people in the survey, a mere 19% said that they stuck with their resolutions and 23% didn’t make any resolutions because they knew that they would break them. This begs the question, why do people continue to make resolutions?

Here are the top 5 New Year’s resolutions in America (via National Today survey):

1) Lose weight (51%)

2) Exercise more (47%)

3) Eat healthier (46%)

4) Personal growth (31%)

5) Spend more time with family (30%)

Two sisters, Sacha and Leah Bragg decided to celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Four Corners Mustache Party. They arrived with mustaches tattooed temporarily to their faces and brought a handful of extras wanting to partake in the party’s theme. They found the event of Facebook and chose it because they figured it would be more “low-key” compared to other places around town. The sisters and their friend, Jenny had a mixture of opinions about resolutions.

“It’s always a nice time for a new start. If you have something new that you want to do, it’s always a great time to start your goal,” Jenny said.

Based on Sacha’s observations, people who make “huge declarations” on Facebook and otherwise tend to fail their goals more than people. She felt that people who made “quiet goals” and talked about their accomplishments later seemed the most likely to succeed.

“I see mostly failed resolutions. People that are typically the loudest at the beginning of the year don’t follow through” Sacha laughed.

Jenny said some people aim higher than they should. It’s important to be realistic when making a goal and to start small, saying, “you’re not going to climb a mountain in ten minutes.” She also sees resolutions as a chance to revisit goals from previous years. She used herself as an example. She said that in 2017, she was going to learn how to knit or crochet and she succeeded.

“Which I know seems like a mundane goal but I’ve been working on that goal since I was 7 so don’t judge me,” Jenny laughed.

According to the National Today survey, only 11% OF Americans planned to party on New Year’s Eve. 45% planned to spend the holiday with family, 24% intended to stay home, and 7% wanted to have “nice dinner with friends.” Leading up to midnight, everyone in Four Corners got a free glass of champagne to toast with. The local band Crazy Heart provided the musical entertainment for the night and did the official countdown to 2018. When the clock struck 12, the whole room cheered. For Leah, just spending time with her friends and family was a fine enough way to spend the last day of 2017.

“All in all, I’d say it went pretty good. I got to have a good time with my friends and family. I don’t need much, just those I’m close with,” Leah said.

To learn more about the National Today survey, visit: nationaltoday.com/world/new-years-eve