new years resolutions

Editorial

Resolutionary Thinking

With the New Year comes the tradition of setting resolutions. About 40 percent of U.S. adults set New Year’s resolutions every year. The largest demographic, at 59 percent, is young adults aged 18-34. Research shows that 95 percent of our New Year’s resolutions are fitness-related, inspired by the desire to “look better.” Despite those good intentions, after one month 43 percent will have given up their goal; after three months only 10 percent are still at it.

Fitness also makes you feel better and even the fittest of the fit want to be more fit. But if we are to improve the longevity of our resolutions and how they make us feel better rather than how they might—or might not—make us look better, perhaps we should be focusing on finding new passions, new routines and new thinking that are easier and certainly more fun to stick with through the new year and even the years that follow.