A brief history of New Year’s resolutions

It is believed that the practice of New Year’s resolutions originated from the Babylonions some 4,000 years ago. They would make promises to their gods to repay debts and return any borrowed items. By maintaining their promises, the Babylonion gods would reward them for the year ahead – but if they failed to meet their promises, the Babylonions would fall on the bad side of their gods (1).

However, the beginning of the year as we know it (January 1st) did not come about until 46 B.C. when Roman emperor, Julius Caesar, introduced a new calendar. The Romans would offer sacrifices to the two-faced spirit of doorways and arches, Janus. January 1st would honor Janus, who symbolically looked back on the previous year, and forward to the new year. On this day, the Romans would make promises of good conduct for the year ahead (1). 

For early Christians, it became a tradition that New Year’s day was spent reflecting upon past mistakes and resolving to become better for the future.  However, despite its religious and spiritual roots, New Year’s resolutions in the modern era often only focus on self-improvement rather than making sacrifices to please the gods. Common goals tend to be health and lifestyle orientated, such as quitting cigarettes, exercising everyday, and losing weight (particularly after days of indulgence over the festive period). However, some statistics show that 80% of people break their resolutions by February (2) – most likely due to the unrelenting trap of unrealistic expectations.

Knowing how to set New Year’s resolutions

Motivation to do better, finish projects, and start anew is at its highest in January, but more often than not these goals are neglected and abandoned. New Year’s resolutions tend to have a broad focus, often requiring long-term and unrealistic behavioural changes. Sustaining such a large-scale goal alongside dips in motivation, competing with other goals, temptations, and setbacks is certainly a recipe for failure beyond the first step. Because individuals tend to be emotionally invested in their goals, failing to to act upon or achieve these intentions can leave them feeling upset and disappointed in themselves. Not all hope is lost, though! Some social psychological research has identified factors which contribute to the pursuit and maintenance of productive goals (and New Year’s resolutions).

Goal-setting theory investigates the way a person sets a goal, and how it influences their performance in achieving that goal. It argues that setting subordinate goals (i.e. single, concrete and less broad goals) to initiate an action or behaviour over a small period of time can facilitate self-efficacy beliefs (in other words, the belief in your own capability to execute and achieve goals, actions, and behaviours). For example, setting the goal to “lose 5 pounds in two months” is more likely to be achieved than a vague goal of “losing weight by the end of this year”. However, subordinate goals alone may not be the be-all-and-end-all of New Year’s resolutions. Goal-setting theory suggests that the individual should divide superordinate goals ( i.e. abstract, long-term goals) into subordinate goals (small, concrete, short-term goals) in order to enhance motivation and performance (3). 

In other words, it helps to break up your long-term resolutions into smaller and more manageable tasks.

Self-Regulation: How you can maintain your New Year’s resolutions 

In the general sense, setting New Year’s resolutions entails determining what goals the individual wishes to achieve, and by their own criteria they will judge the success of their goal attainment. However, there is a necessary planning and performing stage which needs to occur in order for the goal to be maintained. The person needs to know what they can do to achieve their goal, and when they can act to achieve their goal. In other words, being aware of how, when, and why setbacks occur increases the individual’s resilience in their pursuit of their intention. Self-regulation models of goal setting suggests that people need to address self-regulatory challenges with a series of strategies:

Prospection and planning – Prospection is used to identify appropriate opportunities for goal-directed behaviours before having to actually perform it. Moreover, prosecution is used to identify potential obstacles which may be faced when implementing their goals. Being aware of these factors offers the individual an opportunity to alter the likelihood of facing obstacles and challenges. Make a detailed plan – consider the resources you have (will it cost money? Do you need to consider a budget for your resolution? Are you setting yourself a manageable timeframe?), your social support (are you surrounded by people who will support your new choices?), and research (do you understand what changes need to be made to achieve your resolution?).

Automating behaviour – People can also protect their goals from becoming disrupted by developing automatic behaviours and processes. For instance, repeating an association several times, known as implementation of intentions, can be formed to automate specific and desired behaviours. Previous laboratory studies have found that dieters are more likely to resist temptation when they are reminded of their weight-goals. In other words, diet temptation-related thoughts automatically cue diet-related thoughts, and therefore people who are immediately reminded of their weight goals in the face of temptation are more successful in achieving these goals. Another example of implementing intentions is “if-then” behavioural plans. This type of thought process helps an individual specify which behaviours are to be performed within a particular context or in response to a particular thought, e,g, “if I think about fast food, then I will cook homemade food instead”. In short, creating automatic intentions can aid in resisting temptation with goal setbacks- turn your New Year’s resolution into a habit.

Effortful inhibition – This strategy serves to protect the individual from distraction. It is the process by which people attempt to fight against temptations e.g. a person might consciously choose to ignore the aches and pains they experience when exercise becomes tiring. However, effortful inhibition uses a lot of conscious resources, and burdens on a person’s capacity makes them vulnerable to failure. Nevertheless, there are some strategies which can be used to overcome depletion in effortful inhibition, such as incentives and rewards for achieving desired behaviours (positive reinforcement), or inducing a positive mood through reminding the individual of their core values and their capability to complete tasks (4).

In conclusion…

There is no single solution to goal maintenance which will help everyone, because everyone is different and unique in their own way. Self-regulation of goals and resolutions simply offer a set of psychological strategies which can be utilised to help individuals commit to their intentions.

The overall contents of this article explains that people need to plan and execute their New Year’s resolutions in appropriate contexts, and they must be resilient in the face of temptations and disruptions. It is not without saying that intentions can go awry, and successful goal setting does not rely solely on willpower, but rather a set of careful strategies which promote goal achievement.

When setting New Year’s resolutions, you should consider goals which are consistent with your own personal beliefs and values as well as the feasibility of these goals. Look for opportunities that are relevant to your resolutions, and be weary of obstacles, distractions, and temptations which undermine your intentions. When looking to achieve large tasks over a long-period of time, remember to break down your intentions into small and manageable goals – one baby step at a time!

Sources:

1. https://www.history.com/news/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions 
2. https://www.trafalgar.com/real-word/history-new-years-resolutions/ 
3. Höchli, B., Brügger, A. and Messner, C., 2020. Making New Year’s Resolutions that Stick: Exploring how Superordinate and Subordinate Goals Motivate Goal Pursuit. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 12(1), pp.30-52.
4. Mann, T., De Ridder, D. and Fujita, K., 2013. Self-regulation of health behavior: social psychological approaches to goal setting and goal striving. Health Psychology, 32(5), p.487.