It’s 5:30 pm, dark, 17 degrees outside and snowing. You feel like going to the gym now, right?
New Year’s Resolutions are nothing new. Every year people say that on January 1st they want to start eating better, exercising, picking up a hobby, or something that would improve their life or health in some way.
However, it is also known that the majority of resolutions are doomed to fail. In a survey conducted in 2023, Forbes Health found that 8% said their resolutions have lasted a month, 21.9% reported two months, 22.2% reported three months and 13.1% reported four months in the past. Those are sad statistics.
History of New Year’s Resolutions
So where does the tradition of New Year’s Resolutions come from? When you look at the origins of New Year’s Resolutions, it makes sense. According to Sarah Pruitt of History.com, the first recorded New Year’s Resolutions were in Ancient Babylon over 4,000 years ago. They didn’t celebrate January 1st like we do, they celebrated it in mid-March when the world was coming back to life after the winter. It aligned with the springtime planting of crops.
The Babylonians celebrated it as a 12-day festival called Akitu. They would either crown a new king or reaffirm their loyalty to the current one as well as make promises to the gods to pay debts and return items they borrowed. It was an important event for them. If they didn’t keep their word, they wouldn’t receive favor from the gods. This would mean bad luck the rest of the year.
We have Julius Caesar to thank for moving the start of the new year to January 1st. January is named after the god Janus and had great significance to the Romans. They believed he looked back symbolically into the previous year and then into the future. They offered sacrifices to him and made promises of honorable conduct the rest of the year.
However, celebrating a new year in the spring makes more sense. Human survival and rhythm have always been connected to the seasons. The foundation of human civilization was built around the rhythm of new life in the spring, nurturing in the summer, reaping the harvest in the fall, and resting (or surviving) in the winter.
It is counterintuitive to our nature to go against the rhythm of the earth and try to start new in the middle of winter when the earth has not woken from its deep sleep yet. Winter is a time of quiet and rest.
A Different Kind of New Year’s Resolution
Instead of trying to fix your entire life starting January 1st, consider using the sleepy winter months as a time of reflection and mindfulness. Self-care is important during the cold, winter months when people can feel closed off in their homes. Yoga, meditation, and walks outdoors are all ways to improve health that can be done at home and aren’t too demanding.
Self-care could also include cozy nights in reading or watching a movie, a hot bath, or a videogame night. Self-care can come in many forms, and everyone should decide what’s best for them.
Also, another reason people might give up on their resolutions is they may have bitten off more than they can chew. Trying to transform your life by spring might be possible, but could be a tough goal to maintain.
Consider trying small goals. Going for a walk three days a week. Doing 10 minutes of yoga five days a week. Learn how to cook one new recipe every three days. Bite-sized goals are less overwhelming and more likely to be followed through.
New Year’s Resolutions are meant to be positive things that improve people’s lives. They should not be burdens, so keeping manageable goals that improve spirits in the sleepy winter months are more likely to be followed through the rest of the year and actually improve life in the long run.
