With New Year’s Day behind us, we now have to live with any New Year’s resolutions we may have made. Only 30% of American people make New Year’s resolutions anymore. Folks from age 19-29 are most likely to make one at 49% and those over 65 are least likely at 18%.
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With New Year’s Day behind us, we now have to live with any New Year’s resolutions we may have made. Only 30% of American people make New Year’s resolutions anymore. Folks from age 19-29 are most likely to make one at 49% and those over 65 are least likely at 18%.
Health, finances, relationships, and career are the most common topics of New Year’s Resolutions. But how long do they last? Well at about one month out, upwards of 87% still have kept at least some of their resolutions. About 8% give up at one month. But only 1% of those asked in one survey actually kept them for a full 11 months.
An amusing fact is that giving up New Year’s Resolutions is a bit of a tradition just like making them is. There is such a thing called “Quitter’s Day,” which is the second Friday of January or Jan. 10, 2025. Then there is also “Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day” which is on January 17.
So, given that one now has permission to give up a resolution without guilt, what else can we do in January to make the long cold month more fun? When I was a kid, I always looked at the time span between early January when we all went back to school until the next school vacation sometime in March or April as a long slog. Living in Colorado, winter sports like skiing help that attitude quite a lot. But I still view January with a sigh and try to develop the grit to see it through as best I can.
One person I know looks up holidays that take place around the world in various months.
When I looked up the month of January, I was surprised to find a listing of 56 holidays! And this resource didn’t even mention Martin Luther King Day, the end of Hanukkah, or the Lunar New Year.
So, I guess there is a lot to celebrate in January after all! The holidays I found most intriguing are: National Cream Puff Day and World Introvert Day, both on Jan. 2. Then there is Apple Howling Day on Jan. 5, National Winter Skin Relief Day (???) on Jan 8, and National Opposite Day on Jan. 25 (something many teens might like, as well as 2-year-olds). Other celebrated days referred to alcoholic drinks such as National Bloody Mary Day (Jan. 1) or National Brandy Alexander Day (Jan. 31). That sure makes sense to me in this winter month. January is also national Bread Machine Baking Month, National Oatmeal Month and National Soup Month. Those names make sense too.
Does all this fun make January less of a slog? Perhaps. We humans tend to find things to make dark, cold times more bearable. If National Cream Puff Day helps with that, then let’s do it!
In Alamosa we also have the Rio Frio in Alamosa on Jan. 24-26. That will help make the month more fun with a 5K ice run on the river, a polar plunge for the intrepid, and the Fire and Ice Bonfire downtown. That is something to look forward to this January!
Tips for making resolutions that actually might stick? And resolutions not just for New Years, but for anytime that we as frail human beings wish to improve ourselves? One can find any number of studies and articles about this. Some suggestions end up being mentioned in most all of them. So, what are they?
One is to make a resolution that is attainable, meaning that it is a small but meaningful change. Eating one vegetable daily (not counting fries) would be an example. Or always parking far away from the store so that a walk is built into your shopping. Easy and doable without much effort. Yet it could have a positive impact on your health. And it’ll also make you feel good to achieve such a goal, small though it is.
Another suggestion is to make a goal measurable. Don’t promise to do vague things unless you just don’t want to do them. “I’ll exercise more” does not cut it. Instead, something modest but measurable: I will walk around the block (or whatever) three times weekly is better.
Finally, promise yourself that you will do things you enjoy doing. Walking for me is far more enjoyable than jogging. Promising myself to walk outside for an hour three times a week is something I look forward to doing. Working on some needed household chore for one hour twice a week is more attainable than cleaning the whole house at once would be.
It may be obvious, but it is worth saying that such promises such as walking three times weekly means keeping track of such actions. So, keep a journal somewhere so you know what you’ve done. To add to the impact of such a journal, write down one or two items you are grateful for every time you enter an item.
Changing one’s habits is difficult.
Elizabeth (Beth) Kinney moved to the valley in 1993, attracted to Alamosa by Valley-Wide Health Services. She worked as a family practice physician for seven years and then moved to emergency care. Kinney worked as an emergency physician first at the Alamosa and Rio Grande Hospitals and later at the Conejos County Hospital until retiring in 2017.