Why Do People Make New Year’s Resolutions?

Have You Ever Wondered...

• Why do people make New Year's resolutions?
• What types of New Year's resolutions do people make?
• How did the tradition of New Year's resolutions get started?

A New Year's resolution is a promise a person makes for the new year. Regardless of what resolution you commit to, the goal is to improve life in the coming year.

Resolutions can come in many forms. Some people make a promise to change a bad habit, such as quitting smoking or eating less junk food. Other people make a promise to develop a positive habit, such as starting an exercise program, volunteering in their community, or recycling more.

The tradition of New Year's resolutions dates all the way back to 153 B.C. January is named after Janus, a mythical god of early Rome.
Janus had two faces — one looking forward, one looking backward. This allowed him to look back on the past and forward toward the future.
“Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and, ultimately, reinforces humility.  Breaking them is part of the cycle.” – Eric Zorn
According to the dictionary the definition of making New Year’s resolutions is “setting goals for the New Year.”  As to where or how they first originated we do not know.  What we do know is that resolutions were already recorded by the Babylonians over four thousand years ago, and that they believed that whatever a person did on the first day of the year had significant effects on their lives all year long.  It is, in fact, well known that New Year’s resolutions do not have much of a success rate.  Yet, while many folks choose to skip the annual goal-setting phenomenon, almost half of American adults do indeed set at least one resolution in honor of the New Year.
Psychologically, the start of a new calendar year creates changes in our mind set.  We hearken back on prior year’s events that have passed and our thoughts drift to what could have been, what we could have done better.  A new year marks the revival and new beginning.  There is something wonderfully vitalizing about making resolutions on the first day of the New Year, something invigorating and stimulating about the clean, unblemished days ahead that promotes a “can do” feeling of optimism.  The New Year is a great time to look at the changes we would like to make in our lives and how to accomplish them.  A resolution is like a promise to us to improve our lives and to make the New Year a better one for ourselves and others.  Wanting to make resolutions is a good thing.  The fact that so many people keep making resolutions year after year, even when they do not, or cannot, always follow through on them indicates they have hope and a certain level of belief in their ability to facilitate change, becoming more of who they truly want to be.
Unfortunately for many of us the results of our resolutions take on an all too familiar pattern.  The first of the year we start off absolutely determined to follow through on our goals.  Excited and invigorated, we think that this year will be different from the last, when our resolutions went by the wayside.  But, once again, come February or even earlier, the majority of us have abandoned our goals altogether.  Most all New Year resolutions have the common theme of becoming a better person.  We endeavor to improve ourselves, yet many more resolutions end up unmet than kept.
So why then do we continue to make resolutions year after year even though less than half of us actually follow through on them?  For some it is a matter of tradition.  Another reason is the allure of starting from scratch.  The beginning of the year offers a fresh start and a clean slate.  The idea of bettering ourselves is another inspiration.  Most of us have a natural tendency toward self-improvement, and although the New Year is a somewhat arbitrary date, it does provide us with a goal date in order to prepare for the plans we intend to implement, and to get ourselves psyched up.
And, why is it that we fail in our worthy goal to make our lives better and more fulfilling?  Although many truly desire to keep their New Year resolution they lack the will power and/or belief in their ability to actually effect the desired change in their life.  Just wanting it, as we all know, is never enough.  Another common cause is that many people have not truly thought through their goals for the New Year, and as such are ill equipped to develop and maintain the necessary commitment to succeed.  Making a goal too hard to accomplish is also doomed to failure.  One quickly loses interest and the necessary motivation, sometimes feeling defeated before ever getting started.  People who think through what it is they really want to change in their lives, and effectively plan for it, have a much better chance of achieving their goals.  By intentionally breaking your resolution down into achievable steps, the stage is set for success rather than failure.
The number one reason people give for not making New Year resolutions is that they will fail to keep them.  There is no need for me to go into the numerous personal examples of this.  Suffice it to say that despite this fact New Year resolutions are something that should be made, and here is why:

• Making resolutions sets forth a personal challenge.  It is human nature to become contented with our lot in life, “maintaining the status quo” if you would.  By making well-conceived resolutions you are able to explore your potential and continue to grow as an individual, and a productive member of society.
• Making resolutions obliges us to take stock of where we are and how we can improve.  The start of a new year, a new beginning, is a natural time for us to reflect and evaluate our lives.  Have I been the kind of person I want to be?  Is there an area in my life that I would like to work on, to improve?  Is there something I have dreamed of doing to improve myself or my lot in life for quite some time now?
• Making resolutions signifies our desire to take a step towards positive change.  Even if we are unsuccessful in making all the changes we hope to, actually making a resolution will at least focus us, and take us a few steps forward.  As far as I am concerned that is a heck of a lot better than just doing nothing.

Once again heading into the New Year with an ongoing recession brings with it a somewhat different attitude than a few years ago.  According to a leading psychology researcher who has done extensive research on resolutions, John Norcross at the University of Scranton, the economy will affect many people’s resolutions again this year.  Giving up some of those daily indulgences such as take-out coffee, and further cost cutting by brown-bagging lunch, cutting up credit cards, and shopping at discount stores as people continue to struggle to get out of debt, or simply survive.
There is, in fact, some research which confirms that setting a resolution can get you closer to your goals.  One such study found that 46 percent of individuals who made resolutions were successful compared to four percent who wanted to achieve a certain goal and considered it but did not actually create a resolution.
Here is the bottom line: folks who make resolutions to change are ten times more likely to achieve those changes than people who want to change but never actually resolve to do so, whether it is New Year’s eve or not.
What ideas do you have for this brand new year?  Whatever you decide to do in order to make 2012 a better year for yourself and others, pick resolutions you believe you can stick to and then take stock, plan ahead, make the commitment, and do the best you can to accomplish your goals. You may well be surprised, and impressed, at what a difference it can make in your life and perhaps in the lives of those around you.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!
On December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking backward into the old year and forward into the new year. This became a symbolic time for Romans to make resolutions for the new year and forgive enemies for troubles in the past.
The Romans also believed Janus could forgive them for their wrongdoings in the previous year. The Romans would give gifts and make promises, believing Janus would see this and bless them in the year ahead.
And thus the New Year's resolution was born!
Some fun history: It’s said that the Babylonians were the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, almost 4,000 years ago. In celebrating the new year, they promised to pay back money they owed to other people and return anything they may have borrowed. Fast-forward 2,000 years later to Rome under Julius Caesar: The Romans continued the tradition of resolving to be better each new year in celebrating January, and the god Janus, who could see backwards and forwards at the same time.

Now we use New Year’s resolutions as a way to think about what’s important to us, and what we want to accomplish in the next year. Thinking ahead for 2018…what are some things that you want to try? Think about books you’d like to read, new skills you want to learn, and things you want to invent!

Roman New Year

Centuries later, the ancient Romans had similar traditions to ring in their new year, which also originally began in March. In the early days of Rome, the city magistrates' terms were defined by this New Year's date. On March 1, the old magistrates would affirm before the Roman Senate that they had performed their duties in accordance with the laws. Then, the New Year's magistrates would be sworn into office.
After Rome became an empire in 27 B.C., New Year's Day became a time for city leaders and soldiers to swear an oath of loyalty to the Emperor. This was not always mere political theater: In A.D. 69, after Emperor Nerodied, civil war broke out over Rome's next leader. The Roman legions in Germany refused to swear allegiance to the next candidate for Emperor, Servius Sulpicius Galba, said Richard Alston, a professor of Roman history at Royal Holloway University of London. Galba's bodyguards in Rome soon turned against him as well, and killed him in the Forum, Rome's civic plaza. [In Photos: The Gladiators of Ancient Roman Empire]
Like Babylon, Rome originally celebrated the New Year in March, Alston told Live Science, but at some point around 300 B.C., the ceremony shifted to Jan. 1. Rome was a military society, he said, and as the empire expanded, the generals had to travel longer distances. Prime battle season was in the spring, which probably made a March 1 swear-in date too late.
"They wanted to have the generals in place for the campaigning season," Alston said.
As Romans gradually became less warlike, the switch from celebrating the New Year during a month (March) associated with Mars, the god of war to one (January), associated with Janus, a god of home and hearth, seemed appropriate, he added. The first half of New Year's Day in Rome would have been taken up by public ceremonies, oath-taking and temple sacrifices, he said, while the second half of the day was for social activities. Citizens would bring each other gifts of honey, pears and other sweets as presents for a "sweet new year," Alston said.

Modern traditions

There is no direct line from ancient Roman tradition to modern New Year's resolutions, but the desire to start anew pops up repeatedly in western civilization. In 1740, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, invented a new type of church service. These services, called Covenant Renewal Services or watch night services, were held during the Christmas and New Year's season as an alternative to holiday partying. Today, these services are often held on New Year's Eve, according to the United Methodist Church. Worshippers sing, pray, reflect on the year and renew their covenant with God.
New Year's resolutions have become a secular tradition, and most Americans who make them now focus on self-improvement. The U.S. government even maintains a website of those looking for tips on achieving some of the most popular resolutions: losing weight, volunteering more, stopping smoking, eating better, getting out of debt and saving money.
"If the past is any indication, many Americans have a good chance at keeping their promises for at least part of 2018," Lee Miringoff, director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, said in a statement.