Washington…Here’s When You’ll Quit Your New Year’s Resolution

As automatic as the clocking striking midnight on January 1st to usher in the New Year is the New Year's Resolution.  Some will commit to quitting a bad habit, others will try to improve their health, while countless others will resolve to achieve countless other things.

The one thing the majority of those people will have in common is bailing out on their New Year's Resolution sooner than you think.

Why Do We Set A New Year's Resolution

The tradition is believed to have begun thousands of years ago and is tied to an ancient Babylonian festival called Akitu.  Early references to the practice in the U.S. go back to the Puritans that settled on the East Coast.  It's evolved from it's roots in making promises to deities, to making promises to ourselves, and with it, a lack of follow through.

Get our free mobile app

There Is A Day Marking When Most New Year's Resolutions End

Have you ever heard of Quitter's Day?  It's a real thing and it is based on estimates of when people give up on their self made promise.  The website Strava conducted a study in 2019 looking at the level of quit.  They found that roughly 80% of those that set a resolution were off the wagon by the second week of  January...you read that right.

Narrowing it down further, quitter's day has been set as the second Friday of the year (January 10th for 2025).  More drop off by the end of January as the promise of self-fulfilled promises fade.  By the end of December, the percentage of people who see that resolution through is a paltry 8-9%.

I was one of the many who would set a New Year's Resolution...and not follow all the way through.  Most of the things I wanted (and was able) to change in my life weren't based around January 1.  It was when I was ready to make the change.  Making the resolution adds another layer of pressure that may factor into failure over success.

If you're someone who believes in making them, I wish you all the success in the world.  If you make it past January 10th you've already conquered one of the biggest obstacles.  If you don't, you'll have plenty of company.