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"New Year, New Me!" - Why Many People Will Fail Their New Year's Resolution in 2018


Every new year, we hear a chorus of voices chanting the phrase, "new year, new me". New Year's Day is a common time for people to dedicate themselves to new self-improvement goals and do away with unhealthy habits. After all, "the old has gone, the new is here!" (In case you missed it, that was an ever-so-slightly out-of-context reference to 2 Corinthians 5:17.)

However well-intentioned folks may be with their New Year's resolutions, 80% of New Year's resolutions fail by mid-February. Out of those who make New Year's resolutions, only about 8% of people actually achieve them. Why is this?

Multiple reasons have been cited for this phenomenon: people set unrealistic goals, people set vague goals, people set too many goals, people fail to plan how they will achieve their goals, people fail to truly commit to their goals. And the list goes on and on.

There are merits to the above; in fact, all of the previously cited reasons tend to be true of many failed resolutions. However, all of these proposed reasons miss what is, in my opinion, the most significant reason that most people fail to achieve their self-improvement New Year's resolutions: they are relying on their own strength to transform themselves. If we're already the problem, how can we just up and be our own solution?

Not gon' happen.

Sure, a person can resolve to quit biting their nails, start exercising daily, go vegan, or learn to do a perfect cartwheel--and that person may very well get any of those things done with dedication and perseverance. Nevertheless, there are obvious limits to our own abilities to radically change ourselves. Therein lies the problem with relying on our own strength; we will all come to a point when we can't, whether it's mid-life or mid-February.

We may be able to change superficially for a little while, but true and lasting transformation only happens when we rely on Christ's strength instead of our own. After all, isn't that how we got saved in the first place? We could not save ourselves, or rely on ourselves to "clean up" and make ourselves "worthy", or make ourselves new creations. So why do so many of us try, in our own strength, to radically transform ourselves at the beginning of each year?

Here is a reminder to Christians who are making New Year's Resolutions this year, and a "heads up" to everyone else: We need God's help to truly change.

In 2018, will you lean on Christ's strength to make you new, or will you rely on yourself?

In making your New Year's Resolution--that, of course, consists of a reasonable number of realistic, specific goals for which you have a plan of action that you are committed to (you wouldn't want to make the other mistakes that set people up for failure either!)--will you resolve to let God be your strength?

Many people will fail their New Year's Resolution in 2018. But you don't have to.

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans" (Proverbs 16:3). May God be with you and bless you in 2018!

Update: For those of you who need help with coming up with a plan to achieve your 2018 resolutions, here is a link to the article "3 Ways to Achieve Your 2018 New Year Resolutions".

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