New Year’s Resolutions are said to have been around for over 4,000 years, dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, when the Babylonians, during their New Year’s festival, made promises to their gods in hopes of manifesting good fortune in the coming year. Over time, these arcane resolutions – once centered around agricultural goals – have evolved into a tradition practiced and recognized worldwide. Today, these resolutions manifest themselves in various forms, ranging from goals of self-improvement to financial objectives. The most common New Year’s objectives of 2026, according to a Statista report, revolve predominantly around health and work habits. Despite this concept’s ever-so growing popularity and many positive aspects, it does have some shortcomings. So, let’s get into some of the pros and cons of New Year’s Resolutions!
There are a multitude of reasons for which this tradition is so common. The first one has to do with starting off the New Year on a positive note. This form of structured goal-setting allows individuals to hold themselves accountable for new, sometimes intimidating, habits or intentions regarding the new year. The notion of a “clean-slate,” often associated with the New Year, is a great opportunity for people to challenge themselves with these goals, all while giving those participating in these traditions a sense of security while doing so. Another reason for which resolutions are positive has to do with self-reflection. New Year’s Resolutions offer an opportunity for individuals to consider both sweet and bitter moments from the previous year, helping them decide how to approach the year ahead. In this way, New Year’s provides a chance for deeper personal exploration and understanding.
Many psychologists, on the other hand, criticize New Year’s Resolutions on several grounds. Contrary to the belief that they provide hope and encourage a positive mindset going into the New Year, some argue that they feed into stress and foster unrealistic expectations. Resolutions are often made to be too broad and tackle issues that may be challenging to overcome without breaking them down and dealing with them step by step – a process that most New Year’s Resolutions’ participants neglect. These resolutions, which often rely heavily on extrinsic forms of pressure rather than intrinsic forms of personal motivation, eventually shape into burdens and result in feelings of unworthiness. According to a study done by Lexipol, 23% of adults abandon their resolutions within the first week of the New Year, and only about 9% of participants in this tradition achieve their goals by the end of the year.
Given the numerous downsides to setting New Year’s Resolutions, a few alternatives
have been proposed for those who seek some form of growth in the New Year without adhering to this tradition. The first niche alternative is called “word of the year,” which involves choosing a value that one wants to prioritize within the coming year, and noting it down to bear in mind every day. Another replacement for resolutions is to set a “monthly mini goal” – a more approachable objective for the month. Some examples of these goals are reading a specific book, cooking a certain number of healthy meals per week, and practicing a new skill everyday. Lastly, some people chose to tackle the New Year by making a “to-don’t list” which is a strategic list consisting of tasks and tendencies to stop doing or to keep away from in order to preserve energy and time for other personal causes. For an IB student, this could look like making the commitment to stop procrastinating their Extended Essay’s and IA’s until the night before their due date!
All in all, New Year’s Resolutions is a practice that receives significant praise yet faces a lot of criticism. There is no single best way to tackle the challenges presented in the New Year, but for those skeptical of burdensome resolutions, it could be beneficial to consider the alternatives.
