New Year Resolutions and Why They Don’t Last

2026 is just a few hours away and for many, a new year means new goals. But the excitement of January first often fades fast, leaving behind abandoned gym memberships and broken budget plans. Every year, people set goals, even though they often fall apart. So why do resolutions fail? And how can Belizeans make them stick past January? News Five’s Britney Gordon finds out.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

We’ve all heard the phrase: ‘New year, new me.’ It’s become the go-to mantra for fresh starts, symbolizing new habits and a renewed push to improve our lives. But what is it about flipping the calendar that makes so many people want to change? Clinical Psychologist Elicia Habet says it all comes down to something called the ‘fresh start effect.’

 

Elicia Habet, Clinical Psychologist

“It refers to the motivation that people experience whenever like something new is going to happen. Like at the end of the year, you have this feeling of creating a new identity. Forgetting your past failures, like there’s this sort of separation around that time, like January sorry, December thirty-first or the day before New Year. As you feel like this anticipation, you’re like New Year, new me. Very motivated. You wanna leave everything behind you. And it feels that way, right? Because you step into a new year. So it’s you call it like cognitive distancing between yourself, from your past failures, and you reframe your identity.”

 

One of the most common new year’s resolutions is a change in diet and exercise. Whether it’s getting fit or simply living healthier, gyms are packed in January with people eager to break a sweat. However, as personal trainer Keith Jones explains, setting realistic goals is crucial to long-term success.

 

Keith Jones, Personal Trainer

“They try to change everything fast and also they don’t really have a clear direction or plan of where they’re going. So they try to go from zero to, I say intensity, real quick without a proper meal plan, a proper training guide or even having an accountability partner with them. So my advice is that when they don’t have a proper guide or plan, and this, I say the honeymoon phase off the new year past and life become busy all over again, they tend to drop. The first thing would be the gym.”

 

Setting unrealistic goals is the downfall of many new year resolution plans. Professional Therapist, Dr. Denise Lenares-Solomon, says that this pattern of behavior is referred to as the false hope syndrome.

 

Dr. Denise Lenares-Solomon, Professional Therapist

“So January first, four miles, I’m going running four miles, second the third and you’re feeling good and everything. You go back to work. And then work starts work life balance. And now okay, you know what, five o’clock, it’s dark. No, I don’t know. I stay late at work. No, it’s six o’clock. I have to pick up the kids. Then what am I going to eat? And then you start missing. So then what happens is that you start to feel bad about it. That shame the embarrassment because you’re not keeping up this high expectation that you set.”

 

Financial planning is a popular resolution as Belizeans strive for smarter money habits. Financial Advisor, Rumile Arana explains that patience is key and that small changes in habits will bring greater success than limiting all expenses at once.

 

Rumile Arana, Financial Advisor

“When you stick to that shopping list. Then you could stick to that budget that’s on that piece of paper. But that’s one step in the process, right? So the, if you do it in January, you do it in February, you do it in March, you realize that you’re building that habit of being more secure with what you’re doing with your money. And once you. Practice from the, you take the small steps. Those small steps can turn into the biggest steps, and you could eventually manage your entire budget.”

 

Change does not happen overnight, and new year’s resolutions are not mandatory but by taking realistic goals one step at a time, progress can be achieved. Britney Gordon for News Five.