Resolutions break in the New Year

Happy New Year! With a New Year comes resolutions. I am a resolution person. I make resolutions every year, some I break, some I partially succeed at and some I am successful with.

I decided to do some research to find statistics on resolutions.

The University of Scranton. Journal of Clinical Psychology conducted research on Jan. 1, 2014. Here is what they found according to http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/.

1. Lose weight

The No. 1 resolution was to lose weight. Not surprising, as it is my resolution almost every year.

2. Get organized

The No. 2 resolution was to get organized. Wow, is this website reading my mind? My co-workers are laughing right now, because they know what my desk looks like. It’s organized, it’s just Liz organized. I know where everything is ... well almost.

3. Attain financial balance

No. 3 is spend less, save more. I am starting to think that I am normal. These are my top three resolutions every year. Although, I do find it much easier to lose weight than to spend less and save more!

4. Live life to its fullest

The No. 4 resolution is to live life to the fullest. I really wonder what this means. Don’t we always live life to our fullest? I don’t wake up in the morning and say, “I am going to live a so-so life today.” Sure, we all have our mundane days, but that doesn’t mean we are not living our life to the fullest. Even if I do one thing per day that I like doing, I think of it as a good day.

Living life to the fullest, at least for me, doesn’t mean I have to be an adrenaline junkie, it means I should be happy with my life, my day and my choices.

5. Stay fit

The No. 5 resolution is staying fit and healthy. I am a firm believer in preventive health. I think preventive health is an important part of staying healthy, but even the most health conscious person can get sick. Cancer proves that over and over again.

6. Learn something exciting

The 6th most popular resolution is to learn something exciting. My motto is “If you are not careful, you will learn something new every day.” In my job, it is easy to learn something new, it may not always be exciting, but it does expand my horizon, which I find exciting.

7. Quit smoking

No. 7 is to quit smoking. Fortunately, I conquered that several years ago. I know people who struggle with it constantly and quitting smoking is not easy. It took me several times, and I encourage anyone who is trying to continue.

8. Help others with their dream

The No. 8 resolution is to help others in their dream. This is quite an undertaking. I wonder if the people who make this resolution have achieved their own dreams. Are they helping friends, children or strangers? What type of sacrifice are they making to help someone achieve their dream? As a parent, I have helped my children work toward their dreams, but it is not a resolution – it is a fact of life. It would be interesting to find out how successful these people were in this resolution.

9. Fall in love

Falling in love is the ninth resolution. Can we resolve to fall in love? I really don’t know. I am leaving that one alone.

10. More family time

Spend more time with family is the 10th resolution. I wonder why this is No. 10. It should be higher on the list. My husband and I have crazy schedules. We met this resolution first thing this year as we traveled to Riverton to see my husband’s family. Rarely do we make it to Riverton together because of our schedules. I will go when I have a chance and Jerry goes when he has a chance. We decided to take the time to go together before our lives got busy again. It was worth the trip.

Of course that particular resolution is easy to keep when visiting my grandson, although I could visit him more. There is no such thing as too much grandma time!

In their research, the University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology discovered that 45 percent of Americans usually make New Year’s Resolutions.

The percentage of Americans who never make New Year’s Resolutions is 38 percent.

Only 8 percent of the people are successful in achieving their resolution, and 49 percent have infrequent success.

The percentage of people who never succeed and fail on their resolution each year is 24 percent.

People who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t make resolutions.

People in their 20s are more likely to achieve their resolution than those in their 50s with the percentages being 39 percent and 14 percent respectively. I suspect because it is easier to fall in love, lose weight and quit smoking when you are in your 20s.

Seventy-five percent of the resolutions made were maintained through the first week. By month six, that percentage had dropped to 46 percent.

It is nice to know that I am in good company on my resolutions. Maybe in six months I will let you know if any of mine worked out.

Regardless, I hope you have had a good start to your New Year.