How are those New Year’s resolutions going so far? Not that we’ve made it more than a third of the way through January, some people who made one have already abandoned it, and a new survey looks at the most common reasons people fail at their resolutions.
According to the poll of 2-thousand adults, 40% set a resolution for 2026. That jumps to 71% for Gen Z, the highest of any age group.
- The top reason for setting a goal for the New Year is self-improvement (55%), followed by wanting a fresh start (51%) and enjoying the challenge (46%).
- More than half (52%) of respondents believe New Year’s resolutions are an effective way to reach goals.
- While two-thirds of resolution-setters claim to be “all in” and totally committed to achieving what they set out to do, another 26% admit they’re not fully committed.
- That may be why 46% don’t expect their annual goal to last longer than two months and another 8% knew they wouldn’t make it through the first week.
- An impressive 17% somehow typically manage to stick to their resolution for an entire year.
- Even better? The 44% who’ve successfully made at least one resolution a permanent part of their routine.
But the truth is, most New Year’s resolutions fail. So, why do we break them so easily? These are the most common reasons - or excuses - for not sticking to the goals we make:
- Not feeling motivated
- Giving in to temptation
- Finding it too difficult
- Not seeing results quickly enough
- Not fitting with their routine
- Forgetting they were doing it
- Finding it too boring
- Realizing they don’t want to do it
- Finding it too tiring
- Feeling too unhappy/fed-up
Source: Talking Points
Scott's Thoughts:
- Sticking with it all year would be tough, but quitting after a week? You can do better than that!
- I just stopped making them. That way I don't fail. :)
- Health and wellness is something we should resolve to do all year!