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Do you know why your New Year’s resolutions have little to no success? Don’t get me wrong I am not putting everyone in the same box of failing, or not reaching their goals. But the masses seem to find it hard to stick with what they said they were going to do. Why is that? Did you know that
According to a study done by Columbia University, only 25% of people stick to their New Year’s Resolution after 30 days. Less than 10% accomplish their goals.
Did you know that out of roughly 8 billion people close to 2 billion people make it past 30 days; and less than 800 million people accomplish their goals. That is a far cry from the over 8 billion world population. So, once again, any idea why the fail rate is so high?
Here are a list of why New Year’s resolutions fail:
They set vague, unrealistic goals (like "get fit")
Lack a concrete plan
Get discouraged by small mistakes (all-or-nothing thinking)
Rely on fleeting initial motivation instead of building habits
Fail to create accountability
Fail to focus on the small, consistent actions that build lasting change
My people perish for lack of knowledge - Hosea 4:6
You may ask, why is this quote or passage so important? This is the foundation to having success this year in accomplishing your goals for the year. Most of the time we say we want to accomplish something, but what research did we do? What steps did we take to build a plan that will allow us to understand Step A-Z? What objections might we come across? What routes might be better than others? Most of the time we get caught up in hype. You know excitement, sometimes it’s FOMO. You know how it goes. Someone else said they are going to do something so you have to do it too! Other reasons come from lack of planning, or understanding the cost to accomplish this goal.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.”
This quote above leads me to my next point. New Year’s resolutions should be carefully thought out and planned as if you were building a building. Or as the excerpt above references a tower. Most people don’t count the cost and end up starting and never finishing.
A few days ago I was standing on my patio, and I was looking at all the large condos, apartments and more that they are building. Within a half mile radius there are at least six new buildings going up. I watched one at the start of the third level, and now they have finished the tenth level. Others I couldn’t see now are creeping above the other buildings that stand in front of this. I bring this up because I began to wonder how much detail, time, and work went into prepping before they started building these buildings. How do they know what step is next, and what each person should be doing? Building a building has a lot of work that goes into it starting with:
Planning & design
Securing permits
Preparing the site (clearing excavating)
Pouring the foundation
Framing the structure
Installing rough MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing)
Installing roof
Adding exterior finishes (windows, siding, roofing)
Finally interior work (drywall, flooring, fixtures, painting)
Before final inspections and handover
Now I am not saying that you need to run your ideas through an entire process like this, however, I am saying with a bit more planning, you can draw up a roadmap that can help you so
INSTEAD OF SAYING | YOU CAN PLAN |
I’m getting a gym membership | Let me find someone who goes to the gym already to work out with |
I want to lose 25 pounds by… | What does it look like if I plan a fast. Let me look at meal prep ideas, etc. Figure out what that looks like. Does this mean we are changing what we eat? How often do we eat? etc. |
I want to save more money | I have come up with a budget that I will follow. I can only spend this amount of money on things that fall outside of my normal budget and everything else goes into a savings account |
I want to cut my social media time down | I’m setting specific times of days, to be on socials, and a timer of 10 minutes. I disable notifications on social platforms |
I want to spend more time with friends and family | I am going to start a family group chat and let them know how I want to do some family activities maybe once or twice a month and come up with some ideas and a calendar. |
I am not saying just by doing this alone everything will work out fine. It does increase your chances of success. The rest comes down to discipline. Keeping the standard the standard, working hard, staying true, and keeping integrity
Integrity is doing what’s right, even when no one is looking
How will you start this year off? Just because the new year is starting, doesn’t mean you have to have a resolution all figured out already. Take some time, think about and write out your goals. Put together a plan and “count the cost” in making this happen. Happy 2026 to you all. I can’t wait to see more people win!
Do you know why your New Year’s resolutions have little to no success? Don’t get me wrong I am not putting everyone in the same box of failing, or not reaching their goals. But the masses seem to find it hard to stick with what they said they were going to do. Why is that? Did you know that
According to a study done by Columbia University, only 25% of people stick to their New Year’s Resolution after 30 days. Less than 10% accomplish their goals.
Did you know that out of roughly 8 billion people close to 2 billion people make it past 30 days; and less than 800 million people accomplish their goals. That is a far cry from the over 8 billion world population. So, once again, any idea why the fail rate is so high?
Here are a list of why New Year’s resolutions fail:
They set vague, unrealistic goals (like "get fit")
Lack a concrete plan
Get discouraged by small mistakes (all-or-nothing thinking)
Rely on fleeting initial motivation instead of building habits
Fail to create accountability
Fail to focus on the small, consistent actions that build lasting change
My people perish for lack of knowledge - Hosea 4:6
You may ask, why is this quote or passage so important? This is the foundation to having success this year in accomplishing your goals for the year. Most of the time we say we want to accomplish something, but what research did we do? What steps did we take to build a plan that will allow us to understand Step A-Z? What objections might we come across? What routes might be better than others? Most of the time we get caught up in hype. You know excitement, sometimes it’s FOMO. You know how it goes. Someone else said they are going to do something so you have to do it too! Other reasons come from lack of planning, or understanding the cost to accomplish this goal.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.”
This quote above leads me to my next point. New Year’s resolutions should be carefully thought out and planned as if you were building a building. Or as the excerpt above references a tower. Most people don’t count the cost and end up starting and never finishing.
A few days ago I was standing on my patio, and I was looking at all the large condos, apartments and more that they are building. Within a half mile radius there are at least six new buildings going up. I watched one at the start of the third level, and now they have finished the tenth level. Others I couldn’t see now are creeping above the other buildings that stand in front of this. I bring this up because I began to wonder how much detail, time, and work went into prepping before they started building these buildings. How do they know what step is next, and what each person should be doing? Building a building has a lot of work that goes into it starting with:
Planning & design
Securing permits
Preparing the site (clearing excavating)
Pouring the foundation
Framing the structure
Installing rough MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing)
Installing roof
Adding exterior finishes (windows, siding, roofing)
Finally interior work (drywall, flooring, fixtures, painting)
Before final inspections and handover
Now I am not saying that you need to run your ideas through an entire process like this, however, I am saying with a bit more planning, you can draw up a roadmap that can help you so
INSTEAD OF SAYING | YOU CAN PLAN |
I’m getting a gym membership | Let me find someone who goes to the gym already to work out with |
I want to lose 25 pounds by… | What does it look like if I plan a fast. Let me look at meal prep ideas, etc. Figure out what that looks like. Does this mean we are changing what we eat? How often do we eat? etc. |
I want to save more money | I have come up with a budget that I will follow. I can only spend this amount of money on things that fall outside of my normal budget and everything else goes into a savings account |
I want to cut my social media time down | I’m setting specific times of days, to be on socials, and a timer of 10 minutes. I disable notifications on social platforms |
I want to spend more time with friends and family | I am going to start a family group chat and let them know how I want to do some family activities maybe once or twice a month and come up with some ideas and a calendar. |
I am not saying just by doing this alone everything will work out fine. It does increase your chances of success. The rest comes down to discipline. Keeping the standard the standard, working hard, staying true, and keeping integrity
Integrity is doing what’s right, even when no one is looking
How will you start this year off? Just because the new year is starting, doesn’t mean you have to have a resolution all figured out already. Take some time, think about and write out your goals. Put together a plan and “count the cost” in making this happen. Happy 2026 to you all. I can’t wait to see more people win!
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Serenus Sage
Serenus Sage
4 comments
From Hype To Habits: A Smarter Way To Set Goals Most New Year's resolutions don't go as planned. Here's a way to help you set yourself up for a successful 2026. Let me know your feedback below!
Bookmarked to read later !
awww thanks!
Ok this was vibe ! Facts that i probably knew at the back of my head but never really paid attention to . Brick by brick > overnight glow-ups . That’s the strategy !