Every year people around the world make New Year’s resolutions to reach their goals, improve their health, and make their lives better. Many people are successful at keeping their resolutions, while many others fail.
In this article, you will find statistics on the success and failure rates of New Year resolutions, a breakdown of the different resolutions people have made over the years, and how resolutions vary by geographic location, age, generation, and more.
How Many People Make New Year’s Resolutions?
Every year, 38,5% of US adults set New Year’s resolutions. Age predicts one’s likelihood of having at least one resolution, with younger adults being the most likely group to have such goals.
- 38,5% of U.S. adults set New Year’s resolutions yearly, based on the average of five different studies over the past years.
- 52,6% focus on one New Year’s Resolution, whereas the other 47,4% sets multiple ones.
- 59% of young adults (18-34) have NY resolutions, making them the largest demographic with New Year’s resolutions.
- People over 55 are 3,1 times less likely to have resolutions compared to younger adults. The older someone becomes, the less likely they will have New Year’s resolutions.
- 54% of parents with children have New Year’s resolutions, which is 1,6 times more than those who don’t have kids.
What Are the Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions?
Year after year, being healthier is consistently the most popular New Year’s resolution, whether that’s eating healthier, exercising more, or losing weight. Saving money is the next most popular resolution.
In 2020, one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to eat healthier. In 2019, one survey found that more than half of Americans wanted to be healthier – 59% wanted to exercise more, 54% said they would eat healthier, and 48% resolved to lose weight.
The second largest category was “self-improvement” (10%), followed by “psychological health” (5%). In 2014, the US government found that about half of the most popular resolutions made each year are health-related.
The most popular health-related resolutions in 2014 were losing weight and quitting smoking, followed by eating healthier foods, getting fit, managing stress, and drinking less alcohol.
2022 Statistics:
Only 23% of survey participants planned on making new year’s resolutions. The most popular resolutions for 2022 are:
- living healthier (23%)
- personal improvement and happiness (21%)
- losing weight (20%).
Regional Statistics:
Losing weight is more important to those who live in the Midwest while exercising is more important for those on the West Coast.
The southern states find it more important to drink less alcohol, but the Northeast has more people that would like to stop drinking alcohol completely.
The Northeast is almost twice as likely to want to spend more time volunteering in the community.
Participant Opinion:
Just under half of all survey participants thought that New Year’s resolutions are pointless. And 22% of participants said that making resolutions have helped them improve their lives.
Why Do New Year’s Resolutions Fail?
- 35% of people attribute losing motivation as the top reason for giving up, followed by being too busy (19%) and changing their goals and priorities (18%).
- The main reason why people fail is the timing of New Year’s resolutions. While people want to achieve change, they have yet to be ready to commit fully.
- 35% of participants who failed their New Year’s Resolutions said they had unrealistic goals.
- 33% of participants who failed didn’t keep track of their progress.
- 23% forgot about their resolutions.
- About one in 10 people who failed said they made too many resolutions.
Choosing some reasonable resolutions for 2023 can be a challenge with the Habitomic app. The Metis will guide you on how to achieve them and will motivate you along the way.
Conclusion:
Don’t let the statistically high probability of failing to deter you from making a resolution for the new year. Using the methods in our previous article, set yourself up for success or, at the very least, fail forward.
Take what you’ve learned from your mistakes, and even if you don’t reach your goals, you’ll be closer than you were at the beginning of the year.