On the topic of New Year's resolutions

It is that time of year again. The time where everyone takes stock of their life, feels badly about themselves and makes a promise (usually one they know they will break) to themselves to be better. Don't get me wrong, I am all for positive changes in a person's life, but I have always been a little perplexed by why people pick this one day in the year to decide to make big changes. So, I decided to delve into the topic a little more.

Where did the New Year's resolution begin?
Let me first preface the rest of my article with this statement, "I have done some research on this topic, but it is in no way an empirical article. Where I could (in less than five minutes), I have gathered info from reliable sources. Where I couldn't, I used the internet."Now, onto the fun.

The first known New Year's resolution has been credited to the ancient Babylonians (the one's with the hanging gardens and tower of babble). Supposedly their resolutions centered around giving back borrowed property (something I could resolve to do). Some sites report most borrowed items were farm equipment.
In addition, some have credited the Chinese with starting their own New Year's resolution tradition of cleaning their house. I don't need this tradition as I live in a small box in Denver, that rarely needs cleaning. However, a noble quest non-the-less.

So it would seem that even the ancients felt that resolutions were a good idea. Also, the Chinese invented fireworks, so anyone who can do that must have some credibility. 

What do people resolve to do? 
So what do modern Americans resolve to do at the beginning of each year. Well a researcher a U of Pitt (the number one grant fund grossing university in the US) has compiled a list of the 10 most common resolutions (convenient)!. Here they are:

1. Spend time with family
2. Improved fitness
3. Lose weight
4. Quit smoking
5. Enjoy life more
6. Quit drinking
7. Get out of debt
8. Get a job
9. Help others
10. Get organized

All of these seem like very worthwhile endeavors. I think it is commendable that anyone would take on these tasks. However, there is a problem, there is a significant failure rate on resolutions.

How often do people keep their resolutions?
 Maybe it is because people make unattainable resolutions, maybe it is because people make resolutions at 11:57 while intoxicated, with bleary eyes and foggy minds, but it seems that we are not great at keeping our resolutions.
 According to the Quirkology Study:

• 52% of people who were studied were confident that they would achieve success in their resolutions. Not so promising to begin with.
• Sadly only 12% of people who made resolutions actually reported that they kept them. I applaud the 48% of people who made resolutions and were honest enough to admit they wouldn't keep them.

It would seem that resolutions are a bit ill-fated. However, there are some things that can aid in achieving resolutions.

• 22% of men who made small goals en-route to their ultimate goal were successful. This means that if you want to get a new job, you should set a goal to have your resume revamped by Jan 15th, have searched for new jobs by Feb. 1st., etc.
• 10% more women succeeded when they told people about their goal. Peer pressure can be positive.

So how does it all add up?
Well, I am no expert on resolutions. I am just curious about why people feel the need to take one day out of the year and place the pressure of one large goal on themselves with little to no support to obtain the goal. However, if I were going to make a resolution here are a few things I would do to ensure I could obtain it:

• Be serious, if you really want to achieve something you are more likely to achieve it. Conversely, if you go into a major life change with half effort, you are almost certain to fail. 
• There is no time like the present. Back to my question, Why New Years? I think New Years is such a popular date because we can look forward to it, and promise ourselves we are going to change sometime later. I have been told plenty of times, that the hardest part of any task is getting started. I am not sure if that is totally true, but I agree getting start can be a battle. There is no time like the present. 
• Find strength in numbers. If you want to lose weight, find friends who can work out with you, join classes at a gym, make friends in those classes, split a personal trainer with a friend. I find it infinitely harder to skip BJJ than running. Why? Because some of my best friends are in BJJ. When I don't show up, I get texts from them, the next time I show up people ask where I was. When I don't go running, no one cares but me. 
• Let people know you are going to make changes. I hate being proven wrong, so it is exceedingly motivating for me to tell someone I am going to do something and have the fear that I will not finish driving me. 
• Set mini-goals. If you want to spend more time with family, make small changes. An hour with your gandpa here, a ten minute phone conversation with your sister there. Next thing you know, it will all add up. It is much easier than 10 hours of family togetherness at one time (no one should be subjected to 10 hours of straight family time). 

So those are a few of my ideas. What are yours? Have you been successful in your New Year's resolutions? Have you resolved to do anything this year? Please let me know.

As for me, my New Year's resolution is to become a better blogger, starting right now by ending this rambling post.  
I hope everyone's year is better than the last.