Community Corner

Should We Make New Year's Resolutions?

Check out some statistics and weigh in on those yearly commitments to achieve goals or reform bad habits.

You've had a week to recover from Christmas and think about the year ahead. Have you made any resolutions for 2013 or do you steer clear of do-or-die, once-a-year goal setting?

What began as a tradition of performing simple, good deeds, according to 43Things.com, has become a modern-day practice of resolving to break bad habits, such as smoking, or eat healthier and exercise, or get out of debt—all tasks that are "easier said than done," according to some experts. After all, "The best laid plans o' mice and men [often go astray]," as Poet Robert Burns wrote in the ever-popular Auld Lang Syne.

Maybe we should resolve to stop making New Year's resolutions. Of the 45 percent of Americans who usually make resolutions and the 17 percent who infrequently do, only 46 percent maintain them past six months. While only 8 percent are successful in achieving their resolutions, according to Statistic Brain, 49 percent report infrequent successes and 24 percent say they never succeed or fail on their resolutions each year.

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Setting more realistic and specific resolutions is key, along with sharing your goals with others who will hold you accountable and setting measurable landmarks and deadlines, according to WebMD

Do you make New Year's resolutions? If so, what are they this year? If not, why? Tell us in the comments below.


 Top 10 New Year's Resolutions of 2012, Statistic Brain 1. Lose Weight 2. Getting Organized 3. Spend Less, Save More 4. Enjoy Life to the Fullest 5. Staying Fit and Healthy 6. Learn Something Exciting 7. Quit Smoking 8. Help Others in Their Dreams 9. Fall in Love 10. Spend More Time with Family

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