“New year, new me” is a statement that is heard all over the country. People are determined to change for the New year but, the question is how long will it last. People are met with false expectations and no motivation. This generally leads to people quitting their resolutions. A commonly known day, Jan. 19, is national quitters day, another reason given to people to quit.

Around the country, it is a tradition to start the New Year with resolutions. Whether it is going to the gym or breaking a bad habit, many people set their goals unrealistically high. Many feel pressure when setting goals. People try to keep up with one another’s goals–even if they know they cannot meet them. But when goals are set so high, it is hard to see the change that is happening right in front of them. These high standards also lead to false expectations. These false expectations make people think that it is easy to make a change. However, when they take the first step in the right direction, they often hit a brick wall and realize it is much harder than they imagined. These false expectations can also cause people anxiety and depression when they realize that it will be out of reach. When this happens, most give up because their goals cause more harm than good. Getting rid of New Year’s resolutions would take the pressure off of fixing everything at once. Instead, they could set lower goals and climb the mountain one step at a time.

Another reason a lot of people quit their resolutions is that they aren’t motivated to finish them. It is very hard to find motivation around New Year’s when everyone is quitting. If all someone hears or sees is other people quitting, that only gives them another reason to quit. Finding motivation is hard enough already, but it makes it even harder when, according to SNHU.edu, 88% of people with New Year’s resolutions quit before the end of January. A majority of that 88% quit before that, on National Quitters day. New year’s resolutions don’t give people a magical power to start changing all of a sudden. Instead of relying on something that comes around once every year, why not rely on something that people use 365 days a year, like social media? Al- most everyone is on social media, and many are heavily influenced by it. Influencers, mainly in the fitness industry, create a false persona only posting the best pictures and videos of their success. If they started posting both their highs and lows it would allow people to see that change isn’t as easy as it looks. Creating this community would give others motivation to improve 365 days a year.

This is why New Year’s resolutions should be put to a stop. They are a pointless promise that are often broken within a month. New Year’s resolutions give people a reason to put off problems they should try to fix in the moment instead of delaying progress. If people stop making New Year’s resolutions, it would allow them to achieve their goals sooner and improve every month of the year, not just January.