25 Commonly Broken New Year Resolutions

Weight loss is an absolute evergreen. It’s the most common resolution counting for about 25% of all New Year resolutions. Unfortunately, our determination usually lasts just a few weeks and people soon get back to their unhealthy, obese routine. Eating whatever they want, whenever they want and in any terrifying quantities.

Often, working out is involved in the weight loss but there are people who don’t actually need to lose weight (lucky bastards) but just need some physical exercise to get in shape. The outcome, however, is pretty much the same. According to some researches, most of the new gym permanent passes go idle by as soon as February.

Everybody knows that there is absolutely nothing beneficial about smoking. It is harmful to your health, it makes your teeth yellow, your clothes smell bad, it is extremely annoying for all non-smokers and – last but not least – it is expensive! So why on Earth do so many people smoke? Fortunately, many of them realize all these drawbacks and want to quit smoking. Unfortunately, only about 10% of those who make the resolution to quit the bad habit will keep it for at least 6 months.

“I’m never going to drink again!” – this is what many people suffering from a bad hangover say after every wild party. Nevertheless, there is actually a considerable amount of people who make a New Year resolution to quit (or at least reduce) drinking. However; similarly to smoking, alcohol addiction often evolves into a physical dependence, which is extremely difficult to get rid of.

If you ask your friends if they are happy with their jobs, they will most likely tell you “not really”. It’s strange but the more job positions there are, the harder it seems to find people who really enjoy their jobs. As such, I guess its not that surprising that 10% of Americans make resolutions to find a new one. Whether they succeed, well that’s a different matter.

Paying off debts is a popular resolution that many have difficulty accomplishing. Keeping this resolution often requires a major reduction of people´s comfort and conventional habits which is something many people don’t want to give up.

Improving finances is a resolution that about 14% of people make every year. These days, as much as a third of all Americans have no saving so let’s hope the resolutions for 2015 will improve that number.

Sometimes included in the weight loss resolution, healthier eating is another praiseworthy vow we often make. Keeping it can be particularly difficult because many people have absolutely wrong and unsuitable diet and eating habits. Increasing the daily amount of fruit and veggies is a good start.

Time management and better organization is another important thing many people wish to improve and New Year is a great opportunity to start working on it. An average office employee spends 1.5 hours a day (6 weeks per year) looking for things so better organization can help you save time for other activities.

If you manage to keep the previous resolution, it might be easier for you to follow this one as well. The beginning of the year is also an ideal time to spend more time with kids or reconnect with family that you haven’t seen in a while. Unfortunately, people tend to get back to their working routine soon with only small numbers of those who can maintain the goal throughout the whole year.

What sounds like a natural and reasonable resolution is very often difficult, vague and hardly a measurable thing with only about 5% of people actually doing it. There are some psychological strategies on how to handle stress but they are extremely hard to acquire. In fact, stressing less is likely to be the very first resolution you’ll break this new year.

This resolution also sounds very pleasant and agreeable but the failure rate is very high again. Many people work way too hard and even if they are on vacation and don’t work, they at least think of it. The sad truth is that the tight family budgets often simply don’t allow people keep this resolution, forcing them to work more and more.

Procrastination, the practice of doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, has become a serious problem often resulting in stress, anxiety, a sense of guilt and crisis, and possibly even health problems. The practice is particularly widespread among students – estimates suggest that up to 95% of college students are engaged in procrastination. No wonder quitting this habit made it among the most popular New Year resolutions in the recent years.

Some of the first things we tend to think of in a new year are those exotic destinations and foreign countries we would love to see. Unfortunately, what usually happens is that we need the money for way less exciting and romantic things and our travel bucket list will stay unchecked.

During Christmas, people tend to be more helpful, kind and warm-hearted. Consequently, they sometimes resolve to improve a relationship with a family member. But soon after the holiday atmosphere and festive spirit is over, reconciling is the last thing people care for.

Learning a new language is a good idea and this resolution ranks among those that quite a high percentage of people actually keep. Especially if they choose a language that is not that difficult to learn.

Sleeping is a crucial factor affecting our physical as well as our mental well-being and it is well known that too many people have some kind of sleeping problem or disorder. Generally, doctors say we should sleep anywhere between 6 to 8 hours. Nevertheless, many find themselves sleeping far less.

Sometimes a part of the procrastination, spending too much time on Facebook and other social networks is a considerable problem for surprising number of people these days. But even if they admit they have this issue, it can be very difficult for them to reduce the time spent on the site. For many of them, logging in and checking their friends activities is one of the first things they do every morning.

This resolution might be easier to keep now than it used to be but this statistic is misleading. The only reason why people are willing to cut their TV time is because they can watch the same things online or they just replace the time spent in front of the TV with hours wasted on websites (see #8).

The main problem with this resolution is that some people find themselves emotionally attached to clothes, especially their favorite, old pieces.

Every year, millions of people all over the world resolve to use their bikes much more than they did the year before. Some even plan to commute to work on bikes instead of using a car. The resolution is not only good for our health and budget but it’s also friendly to Mother Nature. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm is very often replaced with comfort and laziness and the bikes soon end up on the very same spot in the garage where it spent most of the previous year.

Marathons have become very popular in recent years. Some of us might even have friends who have successfully completed one, which might encourage some us to try and do the same. Unfortunately, when people are confronted with the grueling training needed to accomplish this goal, most decide to quit.

What prevents most of us from keeping this resolution is not our laziness, nor lack of time, It’s lack of courage. Just a very small percentage of people are brave enough to stand on a bungee jumping platform and an even smaller percentage of them can actually jump.

It has been statistically proven that during Christmas, donations are several times higher than in any other part of the year. But once the holiday is over and we return to our everyday reality, our generosity considerably decreases.

Well, to have a baby is not a New Year resolution that everybody makes but it can be a topical subject in a surprisingly high numbers of families. Especially in developed countries, couples tend to postpone parenthood to a later age for various reasons such as career, fear of parental duties, loss of freedom etc.