Psychological Reasons Behind New Year's Resolutions That Often Fail to Be Realized

JAKARTA - New Year's resolutions are often a tradition every new year. From living healthier, saving, to pursuing delayed dreams, many people have high hopes at the beginning of the year as a moment of change.

However, a Forbes Health/OnePoll survey in October 2023 showed that 61.7% of respondents felt pressured to make New Year's resolutions, while 66.5% planned to make three or more resolutions.

Optimism is also strengthening, even though the reality is that more than 90% of the resolutions are abandoned in the first few months.

Licensed clinical psychologist Terri Bly of Ellie Mental Health, Minnesota, calls New Year's a moment of reflection that encourages people to review their lives. Resolution rituals also trigger a commitment to change.

This view is in line with Jennifer Kowalski, a licensed professional counselor from Thriveworks, Connecticut.

"New Year represents a new beginning, and humans need markers to refresh themselves. When something ends, it means there is a new beginning," Kowalski said, quoted from the Verywell Mind page.

Even so, the failure of resolutions continues to recur. According to Bly, humans tend to remain optimistic even though they have failed many times, with the hope that this year will be different. One of the main causes of failure is too big and extreme targets.

"Our mistake is to assume that resolutions must be big and dramatic changes because they sound interesting. In fact, as humans we are not designed for sudden big changes," explains Terri Bly.

Kowalski added that big changes are often not accompanied by realistic small steps.

"People often set big and maybe achievable resolutions, but there are actually dozens of small steps that must be passed first. Because it is not made gradually, the resolution eventually feels impossible," he said.

In addition, many resolutions are made because of the push, not personal desire.

"If we hate the activity and don't know what the payoff is for ourselves, we won't do it," Bly said.

Another factor is mental readiness. According to Bly, those who manage to carry out resolutions are usually at the stage of being ready to act, not just following the momentum of the New Year.

To create lasting change, Kowalski emphasized the importance of consistency over drastic changes.

"If you do it all out of hand only during January, it does not form a habit," said Kowalski.

"The important thing is to get used to doing new things sustainably." he continued.

Terri Bly suggests that resolutions be drafted in small targets throughout the year. This approach is considered more realistic and in line with the way human psychology works.