How to set a New Year’s resolution, and keep it – Editorial
- Many set New Year’s resolutions, but most abandon them by February, according to Dr Michelle Rozen.
- Fitness, finance, and health were the most common goals in one study.
- Experts advise setting SMART goals and using accountability methods to improve success rates.
New year, new you.
This cliche abounds every January as people set resolutions for the year ahead, hoping to improve their well-being and ensure this year is even better than the last.
January becomes the designated time to start shedding those extra kgs (especially after eating all those Christmas leftovers), join a gym, read more books, redo budgets, or organise more family meet-ups.
Many of us will kick off 2026 with these noble goals of self-improvement – and we’ll go hard for the first week or two. Maybe a month if we’re truly dedicated.
Come February, that stack of unread books is beginning to stare accusatorily at us from our bedside tables, and we still haven’t had coffee with second-cousin Doreen.
By the time March rolls around, our resolutions have long since been forgotten in the humdrum of daily life. We’re fully back into the daily grind, and all the little things we swore we’d do have fallen by the wayside.
We may feel a little niggle now and again when we see that pile of unread books, or that Facebook notification reminding us of second-cousin Doreen’s birthday.
But, eventually, December returns, and we start the cycle again.
Independent researcher Dr Michelle Rozen surveyed 1000 Americans to see how many set – and kept – New Year’s resolutions, and found that of the 815 people who had set goals, 729 had abandoned them by February. By June, only 53 people were still going strong.
The largest majority of people surveyed had set fitness-related goals (37.2%), followed by money and finance goals (28.8%), and health (12%).
In her paper, Rozen said setting a meaningful goal was only the first step – goal-setters must also identify the daily activity needed to achieve the goal and break the goal into incremental steps.
Southern New Hampshire University executive director of social sciences Dr Barb Lesniak said in a university article she was not surprised at that rate of failure, as “people often make resolutions without a clear plan for how they will be accomplished”.
Goal-setting should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely, Lesniak said.
She recommended people hold themselves accountable by choosing an accountability partner or using a journal. This helps people celebrate their wins and learn from their challenges.
It can feel optimistic to set a New Year’s resolution. It’s a statement of hope for a better year than the last; a fresh start for a fresh year.
But anything truly worth doing is worth doing right.
Set yourself up for success with goals that are realistic, achievable, and measurable – and maybe next December you’ll wrap up 2026 with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.