Winter is here, bringing forth a torrent of holidays, last-minute gift shopping, and caroling. While there are many exciting aspects everyone looks forward to during the holidays, one tradition always seems to let people down. New Year’s Resolutions, something that everybody aspires to keep, forces people to look at themselves and figure out what they need to improve upon. That in itself is not the issue, it is what follows that always seems to end so disastrously.

At first it all seems exciting, it is a new year, you can start over, work hard, improve yourself, become who you want to be. But the problems begin as soon as one picks their resolution. According to Statista, 53% of Americans said their resolution for 2018 was to save money, while 45% wanted to lose weight or get in shape. While both of these resolutions do not appear to be hard, they are nearly impossible to accomplish during the holidays. After rushing around buying everyone presents, going to various acquaintances’ parties, and dealing with overcrowded stores for a month, most are mentally exhausted and do not possess the willpower to stop themselves from buying the products they want or eating unhealthy food. According to Science Direct, 77% of people give up on their resolution in the first week. In addition, most people are probably facing financial problems from the holidays anyway considering all the presents they feel obligated to buy.

Some people are absolutely determined to keep their resolutions by purchasing binding gym memberships and expensive foods. Although this strategy will work for a while, as more and more other people give up on their own resolutions, it becomes disheartening and much easier to just cede trying. Sooner or later, essentially many will give up, causing themselves to feel pathetic and sad. Failure will be accepted and they will vow to try harder next year and make sure they find success. Regardless, the next year they will fail again, causing a never-ending spiral of misery.

On the surface, New Year’s resolutions seem like fun, attainable goals to set with friends and family once a year. People spend copious amounts of money and time trying to fulfill their resolution, even if it has a 92% chance of failure. Success is possible, but is almost not worth it considering how unexciting it is to meet a goal that is supposed to be set every year, regardless of New Year’s traditions. New Year’s resolutions truly cause a lot more harm than good, and need to be drastically reconsidered to be thought of as helpful in any way.