2026 is here, and with it, New Year’s traditions. Whether you ate grapes under your kitchen table at midnight or heapings of cabbage and blacked-eyed peas on the first day of the year, New Year’s Day was likely a celebration of new beginnings. However, a tradition that many people know but may have bypassed this year was the New Year’s resolution.
A New Year’s resolution is a goal that one sets at the beginning of the year, usually as a means of self-improvement. Unfortunately, this goal is often never met, leaving people feeling discouraged and unmotivated to try a new resolution the following year.
According to a survey completed by YouGov in December of 2025, of the 1,041 Americans surveyed, 51% said they would not be making a New Year’s resolution for 2026, while only 31% said they would be. Additionally, of those surveyed, 42% stated they did not think a New Year’s resolution would have an effect on their year, for better or worse.
Similarly, according to a survey completed by Ipsos in November of 2025, of the 1,369 Americans surveyed, 37% said they would be making a New Year’s resolution, while 42% said they would not.
These two surveys demonstrate that making a New Year’s resolution is a tradition confidently practiced by only one-third of Americans, while others are skeptical of the tradition altogether.
Trinity Nathan, a senior psychology major, gave some insight on why she decided to make a New Year’s resolution and why some of her peers are choosing not to.
“I’m trying to eat more healthy and be more consistent going into my last year of college just to make it to the finish line,” Nathan said. “It’s not really a bang or vision boarding and stuff like that. I guess as we get older, we get used to going through the day-to-day things. We get less focused on trying to ‘new year, new me.’ It’s just something people do to kind of feel better about where they are in life.”
It is safe to say, then, that New Year’s resolutions as a tradition are not actually dying; they simply lose their sparkly appeal as the years go by, with resolution holders feeling discouraged.
In fact, statistics from the YouGov survey reveal that those under the age of 45 are much more likely to make a New Year’s resolution. YouGov found that of those who said they would make a New Year’s resolution for 2026, 40% were between the ages of 18 and 29, while 45% were between the ages of 30 and 44.
This data may be discouraging for some, but it’s important to recognize that we are in control of our goals. Regardless of your age or how many days of the year have passed, it is never too late to set and reach personal goals.
Anayelie Guerrero, a freshman mechanical engineering major, encourages her fellow students to make resolutions, but ensure they are keeping their mental health in mind as they work toward them.
“I know sometimes people have resolutions and never complete them, which I think is okay, but I just wouldn’t recommend pushing yourself so hard for such an unrealistic expectation,” Guerrero explained.
If you are looking for motivation or resources to meet your goals, you can look around LSU, your personal community or even turn to social media. No matter your goals, it’s important to do things for yourself, not for others.
“Pay less attention to what others are doing,” Nathan said. “Run your own race.”
