How did the New Year’s resolution come to begin? In 1740, John Wesley created watch-at-night services that came with praying and making resolutions for the new year. This goes back further though, as far back as 4,000 years ago. In an ancient Babylonian festival that would last as long as 12 days, the participants would celebrate the rebirth of the natural world by planting crops or crowning a new king. They would then make promises to the gods that, if kept, would keep you on their favorable side.

As for in more recent days, many people make New Year’s resolutions in an attempt to improve themselves. Scientists did a survey and concluded that only about 43% of Americans create a resolution every year. However, only eight percent of Americans actually follow through with their resolutions. As for in the UK, only about 22 % make a goal going into the New Year. Our goals vary from around the world. In the US and Egypt, we focus on health, while in Australia and Japan they are focused on finding love. In Russia and India, education and career goals were the top. One antique superstition that exists surrounding the new year is that you should leave the doors open all night in order to let the old year out and the new year in. Another tradition is that, in Japan, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times to rid individuals of their 108 human weaknesses.

A way that you can help keep your resolution is by sharing it with other people. They will be more likely to check up on you, see how much progress you’ve made, and ultimately keep you on track with your goals. On average, it takes 66 days for you to start something and stick to it. You can make an action plan and create step by step instructions for yourself, which will help make your goal feel a little more attainable and allow you to stick to it. Another motivator is to give yourself rewards as you reach “checkpoints” or “landmarks” in your goal.  If you reward yourself when you take a step that you didn’t previously believe you could, it makes it easier to do it again. Be careful not to create an over-ambitious goal though. If your goal isn’t met, it can drain your confidence, which will make it less likely for you to want to complete your goal. 

We wanted to know if anyone around the school had kept their New Year’s resolution, so we asked Katelyn Payton. Her goal was to start eating healthier. She is still trying to keep that goal, but it is hard because of her kids. She doesn’t always have time to cook so sometimes she just throws something together. We also asked Mr. Busch, but he didn’t remember his goal, so he doesn’t know if he was able to keep it or not. Overall, it’s hard to keep a resolution, but if you create little goals along the way, eventually you will be able to reach that bigger goal. It takes working hard and giving yourself a feeling of accomplishment for completing those small goals.