(Roughly) Daily

For many, the turn of a new year is a time of introspection– and a time of commitment to improvement. The Pew Research Center weighs in on how we’re doing with that…

It’s the time of year when New Year’s resolutions are made – and sometimes broken.

Three-in-ten Americans report making at least one resolution this year, with half of this group making more than one, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Nearly a month into the new year, the survey also finds that most people who made resolutions have stuck with them, although 13% say they have not kept any of them.

…

Across all age groups, sizable majorities of those who made resolutions this year say their goals focus on health, exercise or diet.

Overall, 79% say their resolutions concern health. Smaller but still sizable shares made resolutions about money or finances (61%), personal relationships (57%), hobbies or personal interests (55%), or work and career (49%).

…

Less than a month into the new year, a large majority of those who made resolutions (87%) say they have kept at least some of them.

About six-in-ten adults who made at least one resolution (59%) say they have kept all of them so far, while 28% say they have kept some of them. Another 13% say they have kept none of them.

There are only modest demographic differences when it comes to who has broken resolutions and who has stuck with them so far.

Of the 70% of Americans who did not make any New Year’s resolutions this year, a majority (56%) say their main reason for not doing so is they simply do not like to make resolutions.

About one-in-ten (12%) of those who didn’t make a resolution say they break them too easily. Nearly as many (9%) say they couldn’t think of a resolution to make, while 6% say they forgot to make one this year…

“New Year’s resolutions: Who makes them and why,” from @pewresearch.

* Anais Nin

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As we revisit resolve, we might recall that today is Groundhog Day, rooted in Pennsylvania Dutch lore that if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will persist for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early.

The “official” groundhog is named Punxsutawney Phil, who appears from his hole at Gobbler’s Knole in Pennslyvania every year since 1887. (That said, the first recorded celebration of Groundhog Day, then still known as Candlemas Day, was in the year 1841 in Morgantown, PA.) 

While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent correlation between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.