The holiday season is steeped in tradition, including the tradition of making New Year's resolutions. This tradition is older than many people realize. According to History.com, the ancient Babylonians are believed to be the first people to make New Year's resolutions roughly 4,000 years ago during a 12-day festival known as Akitu. Now, many people follow this pattern by making resolutions with goals toward self-improvement. As people ponder their resolutions for the year ahead, the following strategies may help them stay the course over the next 12 months.

Give serious thought to a prospective resolution. Statistics regarding New Year's resolutions vary, but a 2024 survey from the Pew Research Center found that 13% of adults polled indicated they kept none of their resolutions. Numerous variables can affect whether or not a person keeps a resolution, but giving a potential resolution little thought ahead of time can make achieving a goal unlikely. Give any potential change ample thought before committing to a resolution. For a goal to lose weight, identify ways to do that, such as finding a local gym to join, identifying ways to eat a more nutritious diet, and studying how to make time to stay the course. A little legwork in advance of declaring a resolution can pay off in the long run.

Set periodic goals. Small goals along the way to the larger goal can serve as motivation to keep going. If people aspire to watch less television and read more, they can resolve to read 100 pages per week and then gradually increase that total if they desire. Small goals can provide a great means to measure incremental progress that will ultimately make achieving a larger goal more likely.

Be realistic. Realistic goals are more likely to be achieved than ones that seem good on the surface but are too difficult to keep. For example, someone who aspires to exercise for an hour each day but has obligations to work and family that leave little time for physical activity may need to reduce those expectations in favor of a more realistic, achievable goal. Taking on too much will only discourage people when hurdles inevitably appear, and that is likely to compel them to abandon the resolution entirely. If the initial goal is realistic, then any challenges that arise are less likely to derail efforts.

Don't go it alone. Many people employ the buddy system as a means to stay motivated with fitness-related resolutions, and that approach can be applied to any goal set at the beginning of the year. Having someone there to hold the resolution maker accountable, and doing the same for a partner, increases the chances of staying the course.

New Year's resolutions are an ancient tradition, even if the majority tend to be abandoned rather quickly. But anyone can buck that trend and stay the course by employing a few simple, yet effective, strategies.