December 24^th, 2017 was a morning so cold I still remember it. I was an eleven-year-old kid in the 5^th grade who felt the frosty wind nipping away at his fingertips as he walked into the school. A dense fog blanketed the buildings in a sad shade of grey. It was all very blizzard-like; the only thing missing was the snow.

Yet, a sense of relief and celebration reverberated through the corridors. Smiles popped above a sea of red and white jackets, marking the arrival of Christmas. It was a rare sight. Students never smile in the mornings—especially not on a day as cold as this one.

All those smiles could only mean one thing: VACATION TIME! It was the last school day of the year, and a three-week vacation was to follow. That’s what every kid was excited about. Conversations of New Year plans and trips echoed out of every corner of every classroom.

After five minutes, I opened the door to mine, smiled at my teacher, and said, “Good Morning, Ma’am!” in my most enthusiastic voice.

Little did I know that at noon, I’d be introduced to the first aspect of adulting: a yearly ritual of over-promising that makes millions suffer in guilt and regret—especially around the holiday season. Yes, I’m talking about the infamous New Year’s Resolutions.

A Tiny Trip Through 4000 Years

Bruce Lee, a legendary boxer, said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

One kick humanity has practiced thousands of times is setting New Year’s Resolutions. While we’re not at the 10,000 mark yet, 4000 years of practice still makes us better than most amateurs who’ll start now. (Cats, if you’re reading this, you must start now. How else will you know how many shelves you aim to topple in 2025?). 

We’ve been making New Year’s Resolutions since the Babylonians. Many historians believe that they started it because that’s the oldest evidence we’ve found till now.

Just like any other ritual, the Babylonians started this one as an appeasement to the gods. A massive 12-day festival took place each year where they made promises to the gods that they’d pay their debts, return what they had borrowed, and be better. (Sound familiar?). If they fulfilled the promises, the gods would bestow favors upon them.

Julius Caesar introduced something similar in the Roman Empire, marking January 1 as the New Year when Romans made promises of good conduct to the gods.

The modern version of New Year’s Resolutions was birthed by the Methodist Church in the 1740s—where churchgoers made promises to Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

But today, things are a bit different. People have made New Year’s Resolutions more secular—with promises to themselves instead of a God or higher deity. And we no longer have 12-day festivals to celebrate. Instead, we prepare a checklist on paper and use #NewYearResolutions to boast it on Instagram.

The form of our resolutions might change, but the core principle at play is the same. We all believe that as the clock hits January 1^st, we’ll become better, stronger, kinder, more successful, and whatnot. We think, “Wow! The Earth has completed another rotation around the sun! That makes me a whole new person now!”

That is a problem.

What’s Wrong With New Year’s Resolutions?

Three words: They don’t work.

Yes, you read that right. New Year’s Resolutions fail at making you the better, brighter version of yourself. That’s what the data says: In America, 45 percent of people make New Year’s Resolutions, but only 8 percent make them successful.

For an activity that has survived for 4000 years, we’d expect it to have a much better success rate. So, why has it stuck around for so long?

Hope is the answer. New Year’s Resolutions fill our hearts with hope. They give us a new outlook on life. They make us feel as if better days are just around the corner. They let us restart and forget about the mistakes we made in the years gone by.

Humans are inherently suckers for hope. We want to feel better about ourselves, about the world, about everything. Writing down New Year’s Resolutions is an activity that fulfills it all and hits the bullseye.

That’s why I fell in love with it on December 24^th, 2017. In the lecture at noon, our class teacher said, “Kids, we are going to do a very interesting activity right now!” and handed out colorful sheets to everyone.

She continued, “On top of your sheet, write down MY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS 2018—just like I’ve done on the blackboard here. You can set new goals and think about what you want to become better at. It’s fun and simple. I’m excited to see what you come up with!”

The graphite of my pencil etched the paper to its edge—with 30 or 35 goals that made me feel so incredible and hopeful.

Today, I have no clue what I wrote on that page. In March, the school year came to an end, and that sheet—along with all other assignments—went into my archive folder, never seeing the light of day again.

Unfortunately, that’s where most New Year’s Resolutions end up too.

Next December brings with it waves of guilt and regret. The flashbacks hit hard—setting goals you no longer remember, writing an unfulfilled wish list, and a sense of excitement so fleeting it vanished by mid-January.

But no, this time is going to be different, you think. The sense of hope kicks in again. “This time, I’m going to stick through with it! I’m going to make it happen! My resolutions will work now!”

So, there you are, writing new resolutions—only to forget them again. At least, you’re not alone. Millions of people around the world are stuck in this cycle of hoping-forgetting-regretting.

The Roman philosopher Cicero said, “Any man can make a mistake; only a fool keeps making the same one.”

When it comes to the hamster wheel of resolutions, we are proving him right—even though he’s been dead for more than 2000 years.

Why, then, are we still so attached to resolutions—knowing that they fail to create change?

The Allure of Resolutions:

Resolutions do a very nice job of taking over our sense of accountability. The way we perceive them puts the responsibility of change on their shoulders instead of ours. Creating change becomes their job.

The problem is, we are the changemakers. Our actions define the extent, breadth, magnitude, and intensity of the change we want to create.

But that’s risky. What if we fail? What if things go wrong? What if our actions are in the wrong direction? These questions haunt us, and the idea of owning up to mistakes is unacceptable to our ego.

So, we run away from responsibility. We look for something that can take the burden of accountability, and New Year’s Resolutions just happen to stand around the corner every December.

When we make them, our intention behind the change is no longer a strong desire for it but a passive obligation. We make New Year’s Resolutions only because everyone else does it.

That gives us two benefits: All accountability moves out of our hands, and failure no longer bruises our ego. There is no incentive to do the hard work and follow through with our resolutions. So, we just don’t. We continue to live comfortably and create an illusion of change and self-improvement.

No wonder we call ourselves the smartest species on the planet.

But What if You REALLY Want to Change?

Then you don’t need New Year’s Resolutions. It’s as simple as that.

If you really want to change your life, you won’t wait till January 1^st. That date will hold no meaning for you. Now will be the only moment that matters.

December 30^th, June 17^th, September 26^th, and April 4^th are all just like January 1^st. They are days. They are all made up of the same 24 hours and 86400 seconds. And they all fall somewhere in some month. Technically, there is no difference. And if you are someone who wants to change, the date should make no difference to you whatsoever.

Instead of writing down a vague resolutions list, think of a goal that feels important to you.

Then ask yourself, “Why?”

Write down the first answer. Then ask yourself, “Why?”

Write down the second answer. Then ask yourself, “Why?”

No, that’s not a typing error. It’s an exercise in being honest. The first “Why” might be surface-level and deceptive. The second “Why” might probe a little deeper. The third “Why” will bring out your true purpose.

Armed with a clear goal and a real purpose, you build the foundation for the hard, long-term, and consistent actions you need to succeed.

But what if you don’t succeed? What if everything goes wrong? What if, instead of success, all you see is failure? Spend some time in reflection and ask these three questions. Make sure that you feel confident in owning up to the consequences.

Take responsibility for both your success and your failures. Be willing to rise from the dirt and accept that you’ll mess up. Know that you are accountable to yourself and set goals through that lens. Keep your integrity and honesty on top—making them the filters for your actions.

In 2025, through resolutions out of your window, and embrace responsibility. When you make it to December, you’ll be out of that hamster wheel and on the road to greatness.