New year's resolutions are like valentine's day.

If you get your partner a card, some flowers, some chocolates just because 'that's what you're supposed to do', it's pointless. One day is as good as any other to show someone that you care, why consign it to one day?

You can make a resolution at any time and you're probably more likely to succeed because you have already reached the point where you have decided you want to do something about whatever it is.

That being said, in some cases (such as quitting something) it is a good idea to set an 'End date'. But the idea is to wean off/taper down that thing, not have a blow-out before quitting. To say 'My New Year's resolution is to eat less sugar', straight after the time of year where you are likely to eat more than normal, will only make it harder. But to say 'My New Year's resolution is to quit smoking' you should add a target, such as '...buy April' and start reducing the amount you smoke (or start cutting down at Christmas).

Either way, you need to be aware of your own capabilities. To make a resolution to see your friends more, when in reality you're happier at home doing your own thing and don't actually like going out, is counter productive and only going to serve to make you feel bad when you don't achieve it.

So I guess it depends on how you look at things, what the resolution is, and your own self awareness.

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Donkey boi

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Iniks

Iniks

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1 year ago

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Exactly why i stopped making new year's resolution,cuz what's the point if I'm not even gonna do it all the way

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I’m neutral. Some people use them to motivate themselves. But there is no point in making them if you don’t take them seriously. A lot of people make them just because. I don’t think there is much of a point in making them. You can make weekly resolutions or monthly resolutions. I don’t mind them but I don’t think they are necessary.
Also sorry if this is hard to read. English is not my first language

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Olivia

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Ambitious Potato

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1 year ago

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Your English is great!

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Life is too unpredictable for resolutions.

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Luke Branwen

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Honestly, I love them. I see it as a way to reset, refine my goals from the previous year, contemplate what went wrong and what went right, wipe the slate clean and then set new goals. It’s my ultimate self-improvement motivation. This year I have a whole lot of hope for the future and I’m more excited about the coming year than I have been in a long time. Having said that, I’ve also learned, in a big part thanks to my Noom journey I started last year, to be more forgiving with myself. If I slip up, it’s not a failure. It’s an opportunity to learn what the cause of the failure was and make plans as to how to improve in the future. Like the saying goes, “Mistakes are proof that you are trying.”

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Amy G

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It's neutral. I see them as a glorified version of setting goals for the year.
Seems easier to do something realistic & small with what you've learned from the previous year. I recommend time-line planning with setting any kind of goal. They help develop those baby steps, buffers, and contingency plans.

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A Jones

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They are ridiculous. We all know they are nearly impossible to keep, so what she point

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Grudge-holding Treefrog

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I love how everyone here thinks the same way. Why wait till the end of the year to make a resolution? Do it whenever. Me personally, I don’t like resolutions because I suck at sticking to them. I’ll tell myself, “ hey, maybe I should stop biting my nails!” I’ll do it for like a DAY… maybe… but I’ll just find myself doing it again. *welp* but, whatever.

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Nico Roby (She / They)

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New Year's resolutions like the vegan challenge, fitness/diet and alcohol-free January are a bit amusing. You do something for a month and then when February comes, how many people go back to their old ways. A lifestyle change requires a little more than a month, and it must be clearly goal-oriented. I myself am lazy and a hedonist, so exercise must aim at some other goal than maintaining health. That's why I made a promise that next summer and autumn I will do longer and more demanding hiking trips. Now I focus on walking a specific weight backpack with a specific mileage. The reward is enjoying nature. I would also like to finally crochet a sweater for myself, but I can't find the motivation.

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LillieMean

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Yoga Kitty

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1 year ago

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The idea to try something "just for a month" is good, though. Forming new habits needs time and repetition! If you manage to make yourself take a quick walk on your lunchbreak for just a month, chances are good that you keep it up later on because you are now used to doing it. This does of course not work if you force yourself to do something you absolutely hate - chose your goals reasonably.

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They're kinda funny. I go to a gym near my house regularly and around Jan 1st to the middle of February there's a ton of people, but no one's resolution lasts any longer than that

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crowspectre (he/they)

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I don't do New Years resolutions.
I suffer from Long Haul Covid and setting goals that I will not be able to achieve do to my illness feels stupid. Because the only thing I really want is getting better, but that's a thing no resolution can fix.

So I don't think about the future and just try to enjoy my life with the simple things I can.

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DutchFairy

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steampunk dandelion

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welcome to the spoonie club. I'm genuinely very sorry you haven't had your whole life to adjust and accept your chronic fatigue. here's to hoping the new year treats you kindly, and please don't forget, there's plenty of us out there that can support you and give you tips towards conserving energy

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In theory, they're a good idea, just implemented badly and without any instructions.

It's great that you want to lose weight! But that's not really a goal, it's complete lack of anything shaped like a resolution. Saying you want to lose 10 pounds is better, but also not perfect. Saying you want to do it in time for your cousin's wedding in 3 weeks is better, but not, you have the problem of it not being enough time to do it safely. So really, you gotta have realistic expectations and also plan these things into your resolution to increase your chances of success.

But really?

You can make a resolution any day of your life, New Years is just when everyone does it.

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Ellowyn Beimler

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They shouldn't be called resolutions, but instead goals. Like, for example, my new years GOAL is to start going to the gym at least twice a week

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S. L. W.

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Tiramisu

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1 year ago

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Just curious, why do you think they shouldn’t be called “resolutions”? The word simply means to make a strong decision to do or not to do something.

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There is no “special day” to start anything. Don’t wait. Wake up and do the thing. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to “get it right” this year. Just start and things will work out.

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Nonya Non

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I, personally, make simple resolutions that I KNOW I can keep. For example, my resolution for this year is to make one person smile each day. I don’t mind them though

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oliver

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They're kinda funny. I go to a gym near my house regularly and around Jan 1st to the middle of February there's a ton of people, but no one's resolution lasts any longer than that

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crowspectre (he/they)

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I think they can be useful if you're not overly ambitious. going from running 0 days a week to running 4 days a week will never work, but maybe starting off with just once a week or every other week would do you well.

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steampunk dandelion

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steampunk dandelion (Submission author)

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that's at least what my therapist told me after I'd told her I'd started striving towards my resolution weeks before the new year. my resolution? brushing my teeth at least once a day. with a disability that causes horrible chronic fatigue, it's difficult to take care of your hygiene so please don't judge me too harshly. so far, I've managed to keep up with this goal of mine and I'm very proud of myself

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New Year’s resolutions can be anything but a lot of them are to hard to get done but we all try

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Natalea U

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They’re difficult…Unless of course, you are always finish what you start.

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BittyBerry

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I never commit to mine.
It’s like you tell yourself I’m going to do this then you just decide that it’s better to binge watch everything.

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FoxgloveTea

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To eat less. Not "lose weight" but eat less in order to better appreciate food for quality, not quantity.

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Frances Pitchoune

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They're kinda funny. I go to a gym near my house regularly and around Jan 1st to the middle of February there's a ton of people, but no one's resolution lasts any longer than that

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crowspectre (he/they)

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I like them and I have been making them for years but I try to make them realistic and precise. For example, instead of writing that I want to lose weight I write exactly how I plan to do that, drink less soda, walk 30 minutes a day, for example.

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By Deleted User

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like a gym that converts to a bar in march

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Colin Matthews

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I don’t do them. There not really that big here in Australia

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Sir salad (not active much)

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I've had a few successes with them, but I don't make one every year, just when I think there's something I'm ready to do. The date makes me look at what I can improve. It has to be really personal and specific, though. I'm guessing nobody else has chosen "no getting in bed with clothes on "just to rest for a minute and get warm" because this always ends badly"

There's a big difference between "I'm gonna get fit" and "I'm gonna go to the gym Tuesdays and Thursdays on my way home from work" but prior make these huge things that can't really be achieved. But also don't pick something you hate, the gym industry has sold it to us that you can only get fit in that environment - go hiking, sailing, learn to dance, do gymnastics, something you'll love. I never used to have to work at wanting to go again to perfect a trick.

What I hate about new years resolutions is I'm a gym (swim) member year round. The place is packed solid from 1st January to about 8th February every year. I guess that's helpful financially, they subsidise people who go, but you get no sense of what the place is like by joining in January, no wonder you don't keep coming.

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Reviewer01

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I personally don't make resolutions, because I never hold onto doing what I wanted to do. I just set some broad goals I want to accomplish. This year for example my goal is : Exercise more.

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awkward_archangel

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if your motivated to do it, its a really great way to set goals to make yourself a better person. but otherwise it's a waste of time. i make the one every year and have never done it

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Lil Potato IS BACK!!!!

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