New year, new me. This is the mindset of a lot of people as they write their resolutions for the upcoming 12 months. These lists give people goals to strive for, but most just make one to say they did. Some people stick to their resolutions, most don’t.

The concept of resolutions dates back to ancient societies, beginning with the Babylonians. They would make promises to their gods at the beginning of the year, including returning borrowed objects and paying their debts. Overtime, this idea was present in several other areas of the world including Rome, where Christians would think about past mistakes they have made. This custom is also present in the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, where Jews atone for the sins they had committed.

Overtime, however, resolutions have evolved and are now being taken advantage of or made unrealistic to accomplish. Some people are actively working to change their lives for the better. Improvements to life include eating healthier, spending time with loved ones, your job, and more. Some of these are easier to achieve, but others take time and effort to complete, which some people do not want to put in.

People treating resolutions this way almost makes them pointless to even create. Resolutions are the only way people can change and unless people stick to them and make a serious effort to execute them, no progress is made. This whole problem comes down to people needing to be more accountable and make good decisions for themselves. But, the decision is still in your hands and ultimately affects the future. So what will it be: New year, new you or new year, same you?

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