2023 statistic update from Fisher College of Business: “Researchers suggest that only 9% of Americans that make resolutions complete them. In fact, research goes on to show that 23% of people quit their resolution by the end of the first week, and 43% quit by the end of January.”
Which is why I once again feel feel compelled to share how much I HATE New Year’s Resolutions (and why).
It seems that every few years I write an anti-resolution post. Here are the two that sum up why I HATE New Year’s Resolutions.
Back in 2008 I said:
Well, here we are again, that time of the year when people all over the world make New Year’s Resolutions. Even the U.S. government is getting into the act with their list of Popular New Year’s Resolutions.
Here is the crazy thing.
I’ve seen statistics in the United States as low as 3% and up to a whopping 15% of people actually keep their resolutions. So give it up people! It seems that keeping New Year’s resolutions and telling salespeople the truth are two things we are not willing to do.
Instead, what if we work on Daily Resolve?
Every day, making a concerted effort to do SOMETHING that moves us forward toward our goals (or even away from something we DON’T want/like/enjoy in our lives or careers).
It doesn’t matter if it seems like a little thing.
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”
~ Edmund Burke (British statesman and philosopher from the 18th century)
Think of how far we will be able to go if we take 365 little action steps forward over the next year.
Then in 2011:
As we go into every new year I see articles, blog posts, and now tweets about “new year’s resolutions.”
I’m here to tell you I am an anti-resolution fanatic!
It isn’t that I don’t like new year’s resolutions… I HATE them. Based on my coaching experiences over the past 10+ years, I now believe that:
New Year’s Resolutions = Permission To Fail
Yup, I’m not kidding. I believe that people have now heard all of the statistics about what percentage of people give up (for goodness sakes, the Seattle Times quoted 75% in a 2011 article and a post on Hellum said 30% give up in the first week alone) and then use those statistics as excuses to quit themselves.
What I do believe in is well thought out goals – you know the dreams you desire enough to create a plan to achieve for yourself. While everyone else is making resolutions – I urge you to create a plan for yourself.
Wishing You a Profitable New Year,
Lynn