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Personal Growth
How to Anchor Your 2025 Goals
New Year’s resolutions probably won’t cut it.
We commit to bettering ourselves in the new year with many resolutions. These heartfelt promises are often a reaction to the holiday season and the hangover of excess. Or, it’s all about the energy of the new year.
While gym memberships generally pop about 12% in January, about half of the new members quit within six months. For some, gym membership is even more illusory: nearly 14 percent of new members drop off in the first month.
If the habit doesn’t “take,” the effort becomes too hard and interest dwindles. Pretty soon, you can’t even remember the name of the gym.
Maybe the specific 30-day time period of a “dry” January accounts for its relative success. It’s a short-term goal, almost a dare, but it’s certainly not a ticket to behavioral change.
In a 2024 survey of U.S. adults over 21, twenty-five percent reported completing a “dry” January; that is, they did not consume alcohol during the month.
By February, it’s over. Most of the respondents across age groups reported they would return to their regular drinking behavior. As it turns…
