The 10 Most Common New Year’s Resolutions
Have you ever wondered what the most common New Year’s resolutions are? Because I know I have… And I’ve finally decided to answer my own question, by finding ten of the most popular resolutions to talk about in this post!
There are resolutions centered around physical wellbeing, finances, travel, and more in this list. So buckle up, and let’s sort through these together. Because who knows… maybe we’ll even find some inspiration for our own New Year’s goals.
#1 – Improve Physical Fitness
Let’s face it, some of us enjoy working out and some of us don’t. But most people make it one of their New Year’s resolutions to workout more, regardless of which category you belong too. I know this has been one of my goals in quite a few of my lists.
However, like with most resolutions, it can be hard to keep it up the further it gets into the new year. So many people tend to stop heading to the gym or begin to cut down on their workouts when motivation wanes. I’ve been there!
To avoid this problem, make sure you’re setting a goal that you’ll stay excited to meet. Pick workouts that you enjoy, don’t force yourself to do pilates if you prefer yoga. And keep the reasoning behind setting your goal clear in your mind. For instance, if you want to workout to get stronger, write it down alongside the resolution so you remember it.
#2 – Eat Healthier
This resolution is along the same lines as the last one, but the focus is on diet instead of exercise. I personally think that eating healthier is a great goal, because I’ve always been really interested in nutrition and the health benefits that you can receive from the right foods.
But the term “eat healthier” probably looks different for everyone. For those that already eat healthy, it might be a matter of cutting down on cheat days. For some, it might be finding a healthier food than popcorn to snack on during a movie. And for others, it might be committing to cooking three healthy dinners a week.
For me, it’s usually something like cutting down on my carb/sugar intake. Since carbs and sugar tend to have very negative effects on my body.
No matter the individual goal, dietary changes are really popular around the new year.
#3 – Stop A Bad Habit
And although most of the goals you’ll see on this list have to do with starting a habit… a lot of people decide to try to break an old one instead. So some of the most common New Year’s resolutions I saw when I was researching for this post actually have to do with stopping unwanted behaviors.
Some of the most popular ones I saw were…
- Cutting back on drinking
- Not smoking anymore
- And spending less time on devices
#4 – Save More Money
This intention hits close to home for me, because one of my resolutions always has to do with finances. Although the specific goal does change from year to year, based on what my financial situation looks like. It was cool to find out that so many other people make it one of their goals as well.
For the most part people seem to reach this goal in either one of two ways, or a combination of the two. I’ve seen the resolution focus on making more money to save, spending less money throughout the year, or both.
#5 – Learn Something New
One of my favorite things to do in life is learn new things, whether it just be information or a skill I can use. And it looks like a lot of people share this sentiment because around New Years I see a lot of people dedicating themselves to learning about a new interest or hobby.
As with the “breaking bad habits” resolution, I did notice some common themes with this goal. Such as…
- Learning a new language
- Taking a course on a subject that fits the person’s interests
- And trying out new hobbies: cooking, crafting, playing an instrument, etc
#6 – Travel Somewhere
Travelling is something that a lot of us want to do, although it’s also something that gets put off by many of us. But there’s something about the new year specifically that reminds us that these experiences shouldn’t have to wait. So in turn, many people make it their yearly goal to travel more during the upcoming months.
And now that COVID restrictions are easing, it may be the perfect time to resume your traveling!
#7 – Be More Organized
Becoming more organized is one of the single MOST common New Year’s resolutions I’ve seen people make. Because as we’re determining to “start fresh” in the new year, it’s easy to assume that our new selves will find it easier to organize than our current selves.
So it’s around this time of year that we adopt the mantra… I’ll get to it next year! And to be fair, organizing isn’t always the most fun task; so the motivation brought by the new year could actually be the kick in the pants that we need.
Plus, if we do end up going on a decluttering/organizational mission while the new year motivation is fresh… then all we have to do afterwards is maintain it. So in addition to being a popular resolution, this might be one of the easiest to actually pull off.
#8 – Make More Time For Friends and Family
I feel like this resolution is more applicable than ever after the pandemic, because so many of us became used to spending time away from family and friends. It started becoming more common to catch up through Skype than in person, but there’s nothing quite like being able to give friends and family a hug.
So accordingly, I’ve seen a lot of people vowing to spend more quality time with their friends and family. Even if they have to mix it with their travel resolutions and catch a plane to go see them.
#9 – Destress More Often
This is a resolution that my kids have forced me to put on my list almost every year, because I tend to be a very high-stress person. And they’re right, taking time to destress is important for us all. Both for our mental health and our physical health.
Destressing means something different to everyone. Some people like to do yoga, play video games, have a movie marathon, etc. But what’s important is that we all take some time to do it this year!
#10 – Appreciate Every Moment
The final goal I want to mention today may not be one of the most common New Year’s resolutions on this list, but it’s still repeated by many people at some capacity. And it is… learning to appreciate the little moments.
I wanted to be sure to mention this one because I think it’s a really beautiful intention to have, and something that we should all remind ourselves of throughout the year.
Life goes by so fast, and it’s so important to make sure we appreciate it. It’s easy to only stop to take in the big moments but in all honesty, most of our lives are made up of small moments that pass us by if we don’t take the time to cherish them.
So out of all the resolutions we’ve talked about today, this is sure to be one that I add to my list this year!
A Final Note –
As we discussed throughout this post, it’s hard to stay motivated to keep all our resolutions. And “falling short” of our goals has a way of making us feel like failures, at least that’s how I feel when I don’t quite reach mine and I’ve seen others express the same feeling.
I’ve even started to see that more and more people are deciding not to make New Year’s resolutions at all, so they can avoid the negative feelings they might have if they can’t quite keep up with their new year enthusiasm. I have to admit, I’ve thought about doing it myself in the past.
But I’ve found a few hacks that make reaching my goals a bit easier; such as making sure to keep my resolutions on the smaller side so that they’re more reachable. I’ll go into more detail about how I make out my resolutions list in a different post!
For now though, I hope you enjoyed learning about some of the most common New Year’s resolutions with me. And if you’d like to share some of your New Year’s goals then feel free to do so in the comments, I’d love to hear them!
