The Barna Group just released this research today. I thought it was interesting. Below is an excerpt and the graph.
The Role of Resolutions? Making New Year’s resolutions is a common experience, but Americans report achieving mixed results. Nearly two-thirds of the nation’s population (61%) has made New Year’s resolutions at some point in their lives. More than 90 million adults (41%) say they will make such personal pledges in 2011, representing roughly two-fifths of the nation’s population.
Yet, only one out of every five (19%) is “definitely” planning to make resolutions, which may be a reflection of either the half-hearted effort many put forth or a recognition of their past failure to follow through on such goals. When asked to describe their experience with resolutions during 2010, only one out of four Americans (23%) who had made resolutions found those commitments resulted in “significant, long-term change” to their behaviors or attitudes. More commonly, Americans described their 2010 resolutions as resulting in “minor change” (29%) or “no change” (49%).
Another reason people may struggle with keeping their resolutions: they try to achieve personal change on their own. Among those who are making New Year’s resolutions, most said they were not planning on having “accountability or a support system in place” to help them stick with those commitments.
Perspectives on Resolutions Kinnaman put the findings in context: “Americans maintain a love-hate relationship with New Year’s resolutions: millions of people make them, but they rarely report success as a result. This research underscores that most humans want to experience some sort of personal change in their lives, but achieving such objectives is both difficult and uncommon.
“Maybe most problematic, Americans hinge their efforts at personal change by focusing almost exclusively on themselves, rather than realizing that lasting change often comes by serving and sacrificing for others. Churches and faith communities have a significant opportunity to help people identify what makes for transformational change and how to best achieve those objectives – especially by relying on goals and resources beyond their individualism.”
