By Ashton York

The new year means a new president, new goals and new habits. Setting New Year’s resolutions is a popular tradition across the U.S., and though many are focused on health and fitness, some have other goals they hope to achieve by the end of the year.

The New Year’s holiday has a complicated history, and it was not always celebrated on Jan. 1. Ancient Babylonians held their celebration at the beginning of spring, and Egyptians celebrated it in the summer. Jan. 1 was not New Year’s Day in the Western world until 1582, according to a journal by Sarah Montgomery and Erica Christie. 

The tradition of making new goals each year traces back nearly 4,000 years to the Babylonian festival of Akitu, where people would vow to pay off debts at the start of the Babylonian New Year, according to CNN and National Geographic.

Centuries later, the tradition came to Colonial America. American newspaper articles in the 1900s show New Year’s resolutions have not changed much over time, and they usually focus on self-improvement and swearing off bad habits.

Daphne West, a University of Arkansas graduate student, said her family has their own New Year’s tradition.

“Every year at New Year’s we make goals for ourselves and all the areas of our lives,” West said. “Then, at the end of the year, we share which things we achieved and which ones didn’t work out. It’s actually really fun and usually pretty hilarious because sometimes we aren’t anywhere close to achieving a goal.”

Nearly 60% of Americans made resolutions for 2025, according to a survey by Statista. Most of the surveyed resolutions involved saving money, eating healthier and exercising more. 

However, according to a 2024 Forbes Health/OnePoll survey, only 8% of respondents said their past resolutions lasted over a month. 

The second Friday in January is known as “Quitter’s Day” due to the sharp drop in fitness app activity by mid-January, according to Forbes. The initial burst of motivation to follow through with a resolution wears off, and the reality of forming difficult habits sets in. Without seeing immediate results, some give up on their goals when they begin to feel frustration and impatience.

There are a few reasons why resolutions may fail. The goals may be overly ambitious and lack a clear plan. The challenge of adapting to large, new habits can quickly become overwhelming, causing discouragement.

Vague resolutions such as “work out more” and “eat better” are also hard to achieve, as they do not set necessary steps to get closer to the goal. Smaller, more achievable steps such as “walk 10,000 steps each day” or “get 90 grams of protein every day” provide simpler milestones and provide a sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep going. These smaller goals are less overwhelming and allow one to slowly progress toward their bigger goals.

“It makes it less scary,” said JD Clements, a student at Northwest Arkansas Community College. “It makes it more friendly, in a way, where if you do this, it leads to this. Also, it gives me more ideas, like if I do this one thing, it leads to other goals I didn’t even think about.”

Clements said he tries not to put too much pressure on himself when he misses a day of his resolutions. Consistency and discipline are important to keep his resolutions at the beginning, he said.

Most of Clements’ resolutions involve his sleep patterns and activity levels. In 2024, his goal was to start going to bed at a decent time, and he carried that goal into 2025 despite the fact that it was not entirely successful last year. 

This year, he not only wants to get better sleep, but he also seeks to run more and continue losing the weight he started to lose in 2024.

“After a while, it becomes less about forcing yourself to do something,” Clements said, “and more ‘This gives me more benefits than staying up until 1 a.m.’”

His goals have been more enjoyable lately, as they provide dopamine and a sense of achievement, he said. 

“If you go super hard out of nowhere, you probably won’t stick to it,” Clements said. “When you’re running, sure, you got up the mountain. But now you have to go down the mountain. So keep that in mind when you’re running.”

Overall, the success of New Year’s resolutions is determined by celebrating small victories and adjusting one’s goals as needed. It is important to remain adaptable and disciplined, even if there are mistakes made early on. 

The new year allows new opportunities for growth, but it is also a chance to work on self-improvement and self-compassion.