New Year’s resolutions. A trend that had plagued America for centuries. Now this trend usually consists of making a goal for the new year. Most people tend to say things like “go to the gym more” or “eat healthier” yet few people actually follow their New Year’s resolutions. Well, why is this?  Some believe that it’s because people make really difficult resolutions, therefore making them almost impossible to continue while others think it’s just because they are lazy.

Personally I think it’s because of all the ways people make resolutions as well as people don’t really look into or plan for their goals, they just kind of figure it out as they go. Now firstly, the fitness goals. People will make goals to try and work out for the new year or to start a great new diet. However, typically these tend to fade out within the first couple of weeks. Whether this is because people tell themselves “I’ll just start Monday”. Which is what they’ve said the last three Mondays or because no one can really afford to eat healthy unless you’re middle class or higher. Eating better and creating fitness habits take a lot of time that many people don’t realize. In America, we are all about the fast life hence why fast food is so popular. Meal prepping and planning as well as working out all take a good amount of time. You have to plan what groceries to buy, buy the groceries and then cook the food. People don’t usually have the time or aren’t willing to spend this time.

Now the second most popular resolutions are the relationship goals. There is a tradition where people will wear red undergarments on New Year’s Eve and into the new year. This is supposed to bring you luck in finding a partner. This originated in Brazil but people around the world have swiftly picked up this fun tradition. Some people say that it works and some find no luck in this. Another huge type of resolution are financial resolutions. This year we saw an uprising with these types of resolutions as the media trend of “project pan” and “no buy year” flooded the internet. Project pan is a project where you don’t buy any new products until you’ve used up all of the ones you have. This is then usually swiftly followed with a no or little buy year. Where the consumer doesn’t buy any new products, clothes, perfumes, cologne, books, etc. unless they either run or or physically have to. Now this no-buy idea does not include necessities such as groceries or gas. People are picking up these trends in hopes of saving more money in the following year. How many people have failed to stick to such projects because they see a new product come out and feel like they need it? Financial resolutions have to be one of the easier ones as people tend to make them in order to stop overconsuming.

Along with these fun projects, there’s an extremely popular fun tradition. Eating 12 grapes under a table. Now you have to start eating the twelve grapes at exactly 11:59 New Year’s Eve and finish by midnight. Each of the twelve grapes is supposed to represent one month out of the year. This tradition is supposed to bring you good luck in all twelve of the months. Whether that luck be in a relationship, financially, or even a boost in your career. However, if you do decide to participate in this tradition you need to be careful not to choke.

People also try to make much smaller yet still important goals. For example, a goal to read at least 50 books in the new year. This goal is an amazing one but it’s a little difficult to go from reading maybe 10 books an entire year to reading 50 of them in one single year. Also, this goal like the fitness goal is very time consuming and is aimed at making people spend less time on their phones. Which in itself is also an extremely popular goal. We as people tend to get very distracted by our phones and social media. This is why doom scrolling has been labeled as a thing of the past with now new resolutions to fill the time of social media with reading and working out. Whichever resolution or fun tradition you decide to participate in this year just remember that everything can be obtained with a great mindset, lots of planning and determination you can truly do anything you put your mind to. Also whether or not you do these traditions it won’t give you bad luck but not changing anything just might. The near year is all about finding yourself and doing what makes you the happiest.