Why Most New Year Resolutions Fail — And How To Make Yours Stick

Come the first week of January, I dread entering the gym. It will be overcrowded — packed with people who have made New Year resolutions to get fitter. The ironic part? By the end of January, most of these enthusiastic new entrants will have dropped off, quietly returning to their old habits.

Research backs this up. A study by Columbia University found that nearly 75% of New Year resolutions are abandoned by the end of January, and only about 10% survive till the end of the year.

One of the key reasons for this poor adherence is that we focus almost entirely on the goal, while relying on willpower to get us there — instead of building sustainable habits.

Decades of research show that willpower is a finite resource. The more you rely on it, the more it gets depleted. Using willpower is much like doing sit-ups: the more you do, the more exhausted your muscles become, and the harder it gets to continue.

This is why depending solely on willpower dramatically lowers your chances of success. Building systems and habits that support your goals is far more effective.

In his seminal book Atomic Habits, James Clear explains that every habit has four components: cue → craving → response → reward.

The cue triggers a craving, which motivates a response, which delivers a reward that satisfies the craving — reinforcing the habit loop.

Take a simple example: snacking on chips while watching TV at night.

• Cue: Sitting in front of the TV with a packet of chips nearby

• Craving: The urge to snack

• Response: Opening the packet and eating the chips

• Reward: The taste and enjoyment

I've worked out in the gym for two hours a day for the past four years. Let's apply Clear's four laws to this habit.

• Make it obvious (Cue): I go to the gym first thing in the morning, as soon as I brush my teeth. Tying a new habit to an existing one is the easiest way to make it obvious.

• Make it attractive (Craving): I have an autoimmune neuropathy that affects my balance. Working out improves my strength and reduces my weight — both leading to improved balance, making the habit deeply motivating.

• Make it easy (Response): My gym shoes and bag are placed next to the bathroom. No friction. No excuses.

• Make it satisfying (Reward): I track reps and intensity, watch my calories burned on my smartwatch, and enjoy the camaraderie at the gym. Each small win releases dopamine, the happiness hormone — reinforcing the habit.

The same framework works in reverse.

• Make it invisible (Cue): I wrote my first novel in three months flat in 2012. The latest one — published in 2024 — took four years. The result of social media distraction. I want to complete my fourth book in the next four months. I have removed all social media, except LinkedIn from my phone. I have even removed notifications for WhatsApp.

• Make it unattractive (Craving): I constantly tell myself that by scrolling, I am adding zero value to my life.

• Make it difficult (Response): When I sit down at my desk, I keep the phone 10 feet away. That one act reduced distraction by 90%.

• Make it unsatisfying (Reward): I reminded myself that social media keeps me away from my stated goal — of touching a million lives positively.

Habits stick best when they align with identity.

I truly won the war against social media when I stopped thinking of myself as "a distracted addict" and started seeing myself as “someone who has beaten the addiction".

I became a regular exerciser when I began identifying as a gym-goer — someone who shares workout videos in our gym WhatsApp group. Not someone "trying to work out".

The new year is a great time to set goals. But don't stop there. Focus on changing who you believe you are and systematically build habits that support that identity.

So that by the end of the year, winning itself becomes a habit — and you move from being a tryer to a winner.