New Year’s resolutions have existed all over the world for thousands of years. While some people set resolutions and work hard to maintain them throughout the year, many others, including myself, give up on them quickly after. As you can imagine, I failed miserably at my initial attempts at a resolution pact for the new year. That, coupled with my constant failures in accomplishing some of my resolutions, caused me to say: “To hell with it.” The predictable cycle of resolutions made in January and then promptly forgotten by March presents a contradiction to this tradition. Which leads me to the question: do we actually wish for change, or are we caving into societal pressure and capitalism?
The “fresh start effect” is a psychological phenomenon that explains why we as a society give New Year’s resolutions so much significance. The new year’s beginning gives one an impression of a fresh start, or an illusion of one, while boosting motivation. The new year marks the end of whatever mistakes or “failures” one may have had in the past and provides the opportunity to envision a new self that will achieve set goals. Under these circumstances, the pursuit of perfection turns into a never-ending financial treadmill. The cycle keeps going, and the relationship between material success and self-worth doesn’t change.
The moment I talk about eating healthy, my “For You” page floods with extreme before and after transformation videos. This ongoing exposure can result in a vicious cycle of temptation, guilt, and the unceasing sense that something more is required to achieve the objective, even if at times it feels unattainable. Moreover, a study from 1988 monitored New Year’s resolutions of 200 Americans. The success rate was great at first — 60 per cent were consistent with them after three weeks — but it dropped to 43 per cent after three months and to only 19 per cent after two years.
Products and services that are for sale that are marketed as helping you achieve your goals frequently lead to a cycle of dissatisfaction. If you think that a program, product, or lifestyle coach will help you become a better version of yourself, you might find yourself investing in it. The endless pursuit of improvement turns into a quest for more financial resources to sustain this shift in lifestyle, and finding self-worth.
The results of a survey by researcher Michelle Rozen shows that of the 815 participants who made at least one goal for themselves in January, 762 gave it up by June, and only 53 people stuck with it to the end of the year. This cycle is a result of capitalism and isn’t limited to New Year’s resolutions. It is a system that only survives when people maintain a persistent sense of being insufficient, no matter how much wealth they have earned or produced. There’s always more to do, more ways to get better, and a never-ending need to develop higher productivity levels.
Resolutions may or may not be a motivating factor — some argue that they are beneficial. There are many who would like to make a thousand changes to who they are, and these resolutions are merely another scheme to one of the many self-improvement plots you will fall victim to. You don’t have to make a change unless you feel like it, and the New Year does not have to mark the start of your journey. You may decide to start going to the gym in the middle of the summer, or to never see it again. The new year is just an excuse, so just pursue whatever you want whenever you want.
Hello, I’m Gauri Sethi, a passionate staff writer at the Cascade responsible for writing content that resonates with the masses. Currently, I am pursuing business administration, but deep down, I am a person who loves expressing herself through writing.
