January 1 may be the most exciting day of the year. In most minds, the turn of the new year marks a fresh start in one or several aspects of our lives. From finally committing to the gym to cutting out “junk” food, the new year levels the playing field and allows everyone to make the following 366 days (leap year!) the best yet.

Right?

The over-commitment and enthusiasm for New Year’s resolutions is a common mindset on December 31. As we come down from the collective high and overabundance of the holiday season, journeying into the new year with a handful of goals encourages us to return to some form of normalcy.

However, our modern conception of New Year’s resolutions differs dramatically from ancient traditions. The celebration of the new year is said to have originated from the Babylonians over 4,000 years ago, with the prehistoric people hosting a festival to honor their gods and kings with the hope of having a successful planting season. This 12-day religious festival also allowed Babylonians to make promises they intended to keep the following year.

And so the New Year’s resolution was born.

The concept of altering one’s behavior at the start of a new year continued to be passed from one religion to the next, with ancient Romans making pledges to Janus (the two-faced God who is said to be looking into both the past and future) and early Christians offering covenant renewal services on the first day of the new year.

However, today’s New Year’s resolutions are relatively separate from religious practices. Rather than making commitments and sacrifices to the gods, most individuals make promises to themselves. According to Forbes, improved fitness, finances, mental health, weight loss, and diet are the most popular resolutions moving into 2024. These five goals are cited year after year as being the top priority of individuals. Yet, of the 50% of Americans who commit to significant change in the new year, roughly 8% maintain or achieve their resolution.

Why is that? What prevents people from achieving their goals? As someone who has attempted to keep a New Year’s resolution and epically failed, I believe several factors contribute to the failure of maintaining lifestyle changes.

The first issue with most resolutions is that they are too ambitious. For instance, my resolution last year was to spend 30 minutes every day stretching. At the beginning of the year, I had a good streak, reaching a complete month of stretching with no days off. However, everything fell apart after I missed a day due to traveling. Because I had missed my goal one day, I felt like I had lost some imaginary game. So, my stretching became less and less frequent until I stopped the practice altogether.

My stretching failure may sound familiar to many people, especially those trying to adopt daily gym routines, clean eating habits, or maintaining sleep schedules. It is unrealistic to expect perfection when navigating a significant lifestyle change, which is why overambition may be detrimental to your goals.

Overambition also coincides with another faulty aspect of most resolutions: Vagueness. When I ask my friends and family about their resolutions, common answers include healthy eating or working out more. Okay… so what does that entail? Are you eating clean for every meal or a select few days of the week? Do you plan to walk every morning or every other day?

Rather than leaving your resolutions open-ended, try to make them measurable. For instance, two of my three meals every day will be clean. This gives you wiggle room for “unhealthy” treats and allows you to evaluate your progress. For working out, your resolution may be to move for an hour at least four times a week. This flexibility will let you adapt to unforeseen circumstances and stay on track.

However, I believe many people fail to maintain their New Year’s resolutions because they often eliminate something (likely a routine habit) from their lives. Diet and exercise are two things that take significant effort and time to achieve, and the strictness of subtracting your favorite candy or soda from your diet can often frustrate one enough to prevent them from achieving their goals.

Therefore, instead of vowing to quit drinking soda, it may be wiser to plan on drinking more water throughout the day. Rather than forcing yourself into uncomfortable atmospheres (i.e., the gym), you can try a new hobby that gets you active without the fear of judgment (i.e., hiking or at-home yoga). Plus, several other things you can commit to doing in the new year that do not revolve around diet and exercise – including journaling, reading, and cleaning – are conducive to a healthy lifestyle.

Whatever your resolution is, please remember that there will be days when you do not want to participate. A missed day or two will not ruin your resolution. Instead, resuming it days after non-participation will ultimately determine your success.

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Andie Balenger is a native of Gladstone and is currently attending Northern Michigan University. Her column addresses topics from the perspective of a young adult and runs Thursdays in the Daily Press.