Welcome to 2026 friend.
This is not comedy.
It is not entertainment.
It is a new year nugget -- meant to help you grow, develop, and finally achieve what you desire in this new year.
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New Year resolutions have become a traditional rite for individuals, families, associations, and even organizations. Every year, people make vows, pledges, and personal promises -- spoken boldly in January, but whispered regretfully by March.
Over the years, I have consistently sampled opinions about New Year resolutions. And just as consistently, I return to evaluate outcomes.
The findings are sobering.
Nearly 50 percent of resolutions made in January do not survive the first month. By the sixth month of the year, about 90 percent have faded quietly into obscurity -- abandoned, forgotten, or rationalized away.
This year, I have chosen to slow down and confront the real question: Why do people struggle to keep their New Year resolutions?
At its core, a New Year resolution is not about motivation.
It is about habit -- your personal culture.
A habit you want to start.
A habit you want to stop.
Or a habit you want to sustain.
Setting goals, making plans, and listing expectations for the year are noble desires. But why do so many people find it difficult -- if not impossible -- to live up to these expectations?
The problem often begins at the point of decision. Many people make emotional resolutions simply because it is January. They fail to ask themselves critical, soul-searching questions before committing to change.
- What value does this resolution add to my life?
- Why is that value important to me?
- Is this goal realistic?
- What resources do I have to pursue it?
- What could go wrong along the way?
- If it does, what is my plan to recover and get back on track?
- What are the steps to navigate the process?
- Do I have a timeline set up per each steps?
- What measurement system do I put in place to track the progress?
Without answering these questions, resolutions become wishes decorated in dreams
So why do people struggle with their resolutions?
People confuse desire with identity.
You are the one who must pursue the change -- change will not pull you.
People want a new life but refuse to let go of who they believe they are.
Resolutions fail when actions do not align with self-perception.
You cannot live a new life with an old identity.
Change demands self-determination, self-discipline, endurance, insistence, and persistence.
Whether you are an individual, a family, or an organization, this truth remains: unless you enforce change deliberately, you will always fall back to your old identity.
People overestimate the power of time.
Time is neutral. It comes and goes without loyalty, living behind what you invested in it.
January 1st is just symbolic, but discipline does not recognize calendars. People expect the future to produce the fruit from the seeds they did not plant in the present.
January, March, September, or December will not reshape your habits. You will.
Comfort is an enemy of transformation.
Many people set goals without considering what they must release. A new resolution requires a new version of you. And before you are born into a new self, you must be willing to die to the old one.
This means confronting old behaviors, resisting unnecessary comfort, and reshaping attitudes. Sometimes goals are abandoned not because they are difficult -- but because they demand visibility, change, and separation.
Every new goal creates new environments, relationships, and associations. Worry less about who you are now, and more about who you are becoming.
Another reason people fail is that they borrow goals instead of discovering purpose.
Social media, culture, and trends constantly tell people what to want. But goals that are not internally meaningful lack the strength to endure. When purpose is absent, motivation expires quickly.
Ask yourself honestly: Is this your goal -- or someone else's expectation?
Set goals because you are convinced you need them -- not because you were told to.
Then there is the mistake of chasing outcomes instead of process.
Humans love results but avoid process. We want transformation without transmission. We fall in love with the destination but lose commitment to the journey.
Consistency is more spiritual than intensity.
Closely related to this is the underestimation of power of habit.
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Willpower is fragile; habits are faithful. Even prayers are tied to willpower. When people rely on motivation instead of building structure, emotions eventually overthrow discipline. Freedom is found in discipline -- not impulse.
Another silent killer of idea is the lack of endurance.
Many abandon goals when results are slow, forgetting that results appear after persistence, not before it. Early stages feel empty because growth is forming. What grows too fast rarely lasts.
Finally, fear stands as a powerful enemy of change.
The fear of being perceived different.
Fear of isolation.
Fear of losing relationships, familiarity, and belonging.
Some unconsciously sabotage progress just to remain accepted. Sometimes, staying the same feels safer than becoming yourself.
In the end, the failure of New Year resolutions is not a failure of desire -- it is a failure of planning and resistance to the transformational process.
If you have made one resolution or another in 2026, pay attention to these truths. Do not rush. Do not pretend. Follow the track and do the work.
If you stay on course, you will arrive at your destination.
