New Year Resolutions

We’re told the ancient Babylonians were the first people to celebrate the beginning of a new year – in the middle of March – some 4000 years ago. During the time of planting and preparing for this new year, everyone made promises to the pagan gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed, in hopes for blessings on their crops. 

When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar some 1900 years later, the start date was set for January 1. That made sense, given that the month is named for Janus, the Roman god of new beginnings, and based on the Latin word for “doorway.” It’s said Janus could look forward and backward at the same time, so Romans made sacrifices and similar promises that they’d be good. 

We don’t have any data on how long these ancient “resolutions” lasted, but in our modern world, recent research shows most folks’ well-intended commitments last, at most, a month.

A Time to Quit 

Sadly, tomorrow marks the first unofficial “holiday” of 2026: Quitter’s Day! A study back in 2019 found that nearly 80% of people have abandoned their new year's resolutions by the second Friday after the new year. Since we’re barely a week into the new year, maybe some people will hold out longer. We can always hope. 

In past years only about 8% of Americans say they manage to succeed in achieving their new year’s resolution goals. The latest study from Dr. Kim Penberthy, a clinical psychologist at the University of Virginia Health, says that everyone starts excited, but after just a month, only 25% are still trying to keep their promises.

Why We Fail

There is a pattern to what works and what doesn’t. Dr. Penberthy’s study reports failure in keeping resolutions goes back to how we set them. If resolutions are vague and open ended, it’s hard for our brains to help us remember them. Eat better, lose weight, or live healthier are too open-ended. More specificity always improves our odds. So saying, “I’m going to eat more vegetables” is good, but saying “I will eat 2 cups of leafy vegetables between lunch and dinner” is better. 

People also set goals that are way too grand or based on potentially negative results. If you’re trying to lose 100 pounds in a year, the first few ounces lost while you’re building momentum are likely to feel like failure. Also, if your goal is too big and feels unattainable, it’s much easier to give in when you hit the first roadblock. The other issue here is if you set high goals and you fail, your brain releases cortisol, a stress hormone. Cortisol makes you feel worse and is really bad if your goal is to lose weight since it causes you to be more sedentary. 

Another problem with resolutions is that they tend to be based on other’s expectations. Those could be societal, familial or just an attempt to meet an expectation of a significant other. There’s nothing wrong with setting a resolution that will make your life easier, but your subconscious tends to rebel, unless it’s truly what you want to do, for you.

Sticking it Out

As we already mentioned, specificity is extremely helpful in keeping resolutions. So is grace. If you don’t hit your 2-cup vegetable goal one day, that doesn’t mean you give up and grab a tub of ice cream. You accept that you missed the mark, and you plan to do better tomorrow. 

Instead of aiming for a negative such as “I will lose 100 pounds”, target a positive such as “in 12 months, I will weigh ____” (insert your target weight here). That way even small losses feel like a victory, and your brain is focused on getting you to that goal weight instead of creating a loss. 

Cortisol is not the only brain chemical you’ll want to know about. Serotonin is a positive brain hormone that makes you feel better, be more engaged and happier. So instead of a huge goal, set a small goal. Want to write that book? Set a goal to write a paragraph a day. Then, once you spend 10 minutes constructing that paragraph, you’ve accomplished something! Your brain rewards you, and it’s easier to repeat the process the next day and the next. Before you know it, the book is finished and ready to edit and rewrite, and you feel good about that too. 

Finally, do what you want to do for you. Period. Set goals that motivate you, not ones that are tied to expectations or feelings of obligation. Having an accountability partner who’s on the same path as you can also help. The success of Weight Watchers and their members is directly tied to doing it together, so you get support.

Green Goals

One resolution that’s easy to make, if you have the right partner, is the resolution to live in a pest-free home. Every year, we hear from dozens of new families who have decided that they want to start the year right, and our Go Green Perimeter Plus gives them that peace of mind. 

More than 30 years ago, we resolved to offer our clients the best pest care, at an affordable price, using the safest, greenest treatments we can find. We want you to rest assured that your home will be free of spiders, ants, roaches and more, while keeping your family and pets safe. For more details, or to schedule your 2026 inspection and treatment, please give us a call!