The tradition of creating New Year’s resolutions started 4,000 years ago with the ancient Babylonians. They praised their king and promised to return all borrowed items to stay in favor with their gods. The more modern-day take on the holiday and resolutions, however, looks very different. Instead of a drawn-out 12-day party, New Year’s has been slimmed down to a single night. Another large change is that instead of trying to stay in favor of the gods, people try to better themselves. The biggest difference of all, though, is that the Babylonians followed through with their resolutions.

Out of the significantly low number of Americans who have committed to making a positive change in their lives, even less follow through with it. According to Uabmedicine.org, less than 8% of Americans complete the resolutions and follow through for the whole year, with many failing along the way. 

Although every person has their own reason for either keeping or quitting their resolutions, the most common reason for Americans is that their goals are not specific enough. Forbes showed that 23% of people share the most common resolution of “living healthier.” The term “healthier” can be interpreted in many different ways and can often be too vague. With it being very difficult to keep track of a broad goal, seeing progress and staying motivated can become nearly impossible. 

When thinking about creating a New Year’s resolution, always keep specificity in mind and create micro-goals that are easy to manage. For example, instead of living healthier, a micro-goal would be to eat two pieces of fruit a day. With micro-goals, keeping in check on a daily basis is much easier.  

Possibly due to the lack of completion and overall frustration that resolutions may cause, many Americans are opting out of forming resolutions. A CBS news report says that this year, only 27% of Americans made a resolution. That figure is way down from last year with having 43% of Americans participate in the tradition.

With the rapid decrease in resolutions, it is safe to say that it is a dying tradition and possibly for good reason. 

“If I want to change something in my life, I just do it,” freshman Lainey Tuszynski said. 

When posed with a problem in life or when a change is needed to stay happy or healthy, the change should happen. People shouldn’t need to wait until the Gregorian Calendar finishes its solar dating system. Where the earth is in its revolution around the sun doesn’t matter, whether it’s January, June or November, there’s always a time to make changes that benefit one’s lifestyle. Essentially, the “New Year, new me” phrase is redundant when someone could have followed through with their resolution before the new year even began. In the event the resolution doesn’t workout, don’t wait until next year, just try again.