“New year, new me!” is a universal saying, and a cry of celebration to every person making it through another year. Everyone has said it at least once, whether they meant it or not and that is the problem: they usually do not. Unfortunately, New Year’s resolutions typically do more harm than good for the people making them. Not only do they become excuses, an attempt to convince others that they are actually changing, but they often push people away from the goals they make. 

Let us set the stage: It is January 1st, 2025. You and your friends have gathered together at your house. The group has been partying for hours, and through slurred words, the gang agrees to tell one another about their New Year’s resolutions. Generic resolutions are shared immediately, everyone wants to “lose weight”, “work harder”, and most common of all, “get ripped”. But among the sea of laughter as you share in a circle, you hear a resolution that stands out: “never make a New Year’s resolution again.” What? Why? Were these resolutions bad? Out of curiosity, you ask the person about what they mean and after a few seconds, he explains his story. 

After listening to this random dude spit knowledge at you, you look down at your notes. You have written four solid pages of transcription from his half-drunken rant, and are finally starting to see the pieces come together. First, he spoke about what a New Year’s resolution has become. A resolution on the first of every year, shared with your friends and family, has become more of a contest than a meaningful promise to change. People often lie about what they want to achieve, and are simply puffing out their chest, bragging about their ambitions. Resolutions are an excuse to show people an ideal version of yourself, without actually becoming that version. He brings up the fact that “real promises to yourself, you only share with yourself”, showing the flaws of sharing your personal goals and ambitions with others at a New Year’s party. 

Moreover, telling people about what you really want to do frequently works against you, taking you further away from the goals you want to achieve. When people promise others that they are going to change, nine times out of ten, it falls through. Studies have proven that telling people your goals makes you less likely to accomplish them. By telling others and having them acknowledge your aspirations, your brain gives you the same feelings of accomplishment as when you have completed your goal. Once you have opened up to others about your preferred changes, your mindset, voluntarily or not, convinces you that you have made progress. For many people, this initial boost of “accomplishment” is enough to kill the drive they once had for their resolution, and it ends there. Even if the resolution stays alive after that, throughout the year, your brain will be more accepting of bending the rules around your resolution, or justifying other ways to excuse your behaviour due to the promise you made. 

You realize that you have made it to the end of your notes, and the person who was telling you about all this is back at the snack bar. Interestingly enough, he signed the last page of your notebook, and while you were distracted, wrote that “nothing will fall into your lap just because you say it will. I’ll have the same resolution next year.”