It’s time to end the New Year’s Resolution

By Andres Del Toro |

With the year coming to a close, people everywhere begin to partake in a traditional event of self-examination. They will make a new promise to themselves, in order to try and better their lives for the next year ahead. This annual promise to oneself has come to be known as a “New Year’s Resolution.” The resolutions include, but are not limited to, losing weight, saving money, and getting more organized. More often than not these promises are lost or forgotten within the first few weeks of the new year. People should strive to better themselves all the time, not pick out only a single day to make improvements.

According to the University of Scranton, 25 percent of people do not complete their resolution through the first week. Twenty-nine percent of people fail to keep their resolution within two weeks. This downward trend continues with only 64 percent of people lasting one month, and a mere 54 percent after 6 months. These statistics grow even worse with age. Young or old, people tend to forget or just simply throw way their promises from beginning of the year. Thirty-nine percent of people in their twenties achieve their goal and a miserably low percentage of only 14 of people over 50 who actually complete their resolutions.

So why continue to make these resolutions, knowing that they will most likely fall to the wayside? Some continue solely on the fact that making a resolution is a yearly tradition. Others just see it as a good thing to do. Moreover, they keep making these resolutions because a chance to start fresh every year is appealing to everyone. An opportunity to start from scratch for the new year draws people back to making the resolutions.

Rather than continuing to make empty promises year after year, why not make a promise to be a better person every day?