Somewhere between 30%-50% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, reports from last year show. A study from YouGov revealed some of the more common resolutions made and whether people think they’ll keep their resolutions. More than a quarter of participants chose “saving more money,” while the second most popular resolution was “improving physical health.”
However, Dr. Michelle Rozen’s research reveals that 94% of people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions. “In fact, Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) reports that 88% of people who set New Year’s resolutions fail before the end of January.”
Resolutions might be popular but those who keep them are few.
Most of us have probably had this experience. For me, I remember having a few years in a row where I made the commitment to exercise more and eat better.
Quickly, within a week or two, I began to make excuses. Exercising involved waking up earlier or staying up later at night. Eating healthier meant that if we had a family celebration or a work party that I could not partake in the dessert. Admittedly, once the commitment became a challenge, I abandoned it.
Reflecting on what I would like to change in the upcoming year has made me more honest about how I made these resolutions in the past and how important it is to choose something that is more meaningful.
In all honesty, I never made a formal commitment. I would tell myself that I wanted to go to the gym or stop eating as much ice cream. If people asked if I had any resolutions, I would tell them I am going to work out more and eat better, but it was vague.
These are two aspects that I am going to change for 2026.
Choosing something to give up means I need to formally choose it by writing it down and sharing it with my wife and closest friend. Doing this makes the promise more real and I can count on them to keep me accountable.
Second, it’s important to make the resolution more concrete in its expectations and therefore more meaningful.
Setting a clear goal is what Rozen calls, “getting granular.” Being as specific as possible is arguably the most important trait found in those who actually keep their goals and follow through on them.
With this in mind, I want to be granular about something that will be truly meaningful.
While exercising and having a healthy diet is pivotal for the human person, this year I want to focus more on things that last and that go beyond myself.
This year, I am committing to more prayer time which requires less screen time and will enable me to be more intentional about the time I spend with my family.
This means that I am committing to waking up each morning and praying for 15-30 minutes. I’ll focus on a Bible passage and journal about it while allowing it to fuel my meditation.
I have three kids (aged 5, 3, and 1), so the morning makes the promise more concrete. It is also truly the only way I can keep this commitment long term.
I know that when I pray in the morning, I am a better man, husband and father. This connection with the living God makes me more grateful, more patient and more willing to sacrifice.
Seeing my oldest child, Ben, enter kindergarten this year and become a little boy instead of a toddler has sparked in me a desire to be more present to all my kids and my wife in conversations.
I know that what keeps me from doing this is my attachment to my phone and work computer. So, to accomplish this I am going to place my phone in my bedroom when I get home from work.
I am making a rule to not go on my work computer in front of my children. These two changes (ones that I have already started incorporating in my routine in December), have already brought more of a focus on wasting time with my family rather than being caught up with social media or work emails.
Ultimately, my hope is that being more prayerful will make me more grounded in what is most important in life. It will connect me with the God of love and encountering God first thing will propel me to be more vigilant in keeping my promise to be off my screen and more engaged with the precious time I have with my wife and kids.
I cannot imagine a more important resolution to make—and to keep.
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