The calendar has turned to a new year, bringing the traditional time to set New Year’s resolutions. Many people purposefully won’t make New Year’s resolutions because it has become cliche. In North Car
olina, making resolutions is far more common.
In a new national Statista poll, when asked about making New Year’s resolutions, 63% of those surveyed chose, “I never make any.” However, making New Year’s resolutions can be helpful.
One reason why making New Year’s Resolutions has become so common is because they work. Although many people don’t keep their resolutions throughout the year, those who do find it beneficial.
Let’s take a look at the resolutions North Carolinians are ringing in the New Year.
North Carolina New Year’s resolutions
Do North Carolinians have the same New Year’s resolutions as the rest of the US? With a few exceptions, they do.
NC Sharp, the trusted source for news and information about North Carolina sports betting, conducted a survey with Pollfish to determine what resolutions North Carolina residents are making. According to a recent Pollfish survey, the second most common New Year’s resolution in North Carolina fits the expected cliche to ‘lose weight/get in shape.’
The most popular New Year’s resolution this year in North Carolina, according to the Pollfish survey, is to “Save more money/spend less,” right in line with the rest of the U.S.
The top 10 New Year’s resolutions in North Carolina according to our survey:
North Carolinians do a better job of making New Year’s resolutions
While 63% of Americans don’t make New Year’s resolutions, almost 65% of the citizens of North Carolina do.
The survey asked, “How important is making New Year’s resolutions to you?” Just over 32% of the respondents said New Year’s resolutions are “Extremely important.” Another 32% said a New Year’s resolution was “Somewhat important.”
Less than 10% of North Carolinians don’t make New Year’s resolutions, stating that New Year’s resolutions are “Not important at all – I never make New Year’s resolutions.”
How North Carolina compares to the rest of the US
The cliche New Year resolution is ‘to lose weight’ or ‘get in shape.’ According to another Statista poll, the second and third most common New Year’s resolutions in the United States for 2024 are to ‘exercise more’ and ‘eat healthier’ like the cliche.
The most popular New Year’s resolution this year, according to the Statista poll, is “to save more money.”
The top 10 New Year’s resolutions in the US according to the Statista survey:
For reference, Statista respondents were able to choose more than one response.
5 tips for keeping your New Year’s resolutions
If you are part of the majority in North Carolina who make New Year’s resolutions, try these five tips to increase your chances of success:
Start with one resolution
Don’t overwhelm yourself with multiple goals of losing weight, saving money, and reading more. Start with one resolution, and only after you’ve achieved it or created a habit should you add another goal.
Be specific
Set an achievable goal (more on that later) that is clear when you’ve reached it. What does it mean to ‘exercise more’? Is that 5 minutes or 3 hours daily, and when is ‘more’ achieved?
Change vague words such as ‘more’ or ‘better’ with specifics. ‘Exercise more’ becomes ‘running 20 minutes 3 days a week’ or ‘bench pressing your weight.’ Once you’ve met these goals, you’ve succeeded and can celebrate. And if these goals have taken time to reach, you’ve probably developed the habit of doing them, making it much easier to continue.
Make your resolution achievable
A New Year’s resolution such as, ‘read two books a week,’ if you are not reading now, will likely lead to frustration and failure. Aim for something you can reasonably achieve. One book every two weeks is more realistic. Then, once you are in the reading habit, you can increase how much you read.
Have the right support
Your chances of success are higher when you have support. You are far more likely to learn a new skill if you do it with a friend or group. If learning to knit is the resolution, consider joining a knitting club rather than learning on YouTube. Or watch those YouTube tutorials with a friend who also wants to learn knitting.
If you want accountability without socializing, ask someone to help keep you on track with a message inquiring about your progress.
Forgive failures
No matter the New Year’s resolution, at some point, you will falter. And that’s ok. Missing a day (or week) at the gym is not the same as failing. Missing a day and not going back is failing.
Whether it’s a momentary lack of discipline or something out of your control, it’s not a failure if you get back on track. The failure is if you give up altogether.
If you resolve to read a book a week but miss four weeks and read only 48 books in a year, is that failing? That’s probably 47 more books than most people read.
Make the resolution!
Follow the lead of North Carolina and make a New Year’s resolution. Make one resolution. Be specific and make it achievable. Then get support to stick with it, and don’t confuse a lapse with failure.
You really can change your life one New Year’s resolution at a time.
About this story
NC Sharp and Pollfish conducted a survey of 750 US citizens over the age of 25 from across the country who self-reported having travel plans for 2024. Of those surveyed, 45.73% were men and 54.27% were women. The margin of error is ~5%.
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