The Spiritual Reason Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail And What To Do Instead
- Brainz Magazine
- Jan 3
- 9 min read
Lamar Greene is a passionate full-spectrum doula, spiritual life coach, and budding community herbalist with a meaningful background in reproductive health advocacy both in the U.S. and globally. They are the founder of Doula Alchemist Healing, a Black and Queer-owned healing practice centered around reproductive justice and spirituality.
It is something about a chance for a new beginning that makes us want to commemorate the moment. Yet, sometimes, that’s all it seems to be: a moment. Have you ever set New Year’s resolutions only to find that by the start of spring, just a few months later, you have completely abandoned them and feel exhausted? If so, you are not the only one, and it is not your fault. Many experts have focused on the psychological and behavioral reasons why New Year’s resolutions often fail, but not the spiritual. This article will explain the spiritual reasoning behind the high failure rate of New Year’s resolutions and what you can do instead to sustainably achieve your goals.
The history of new year’s resolutions
The idea of New Year’s resolutions has been present throughout human history. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the practice of setting resolutions for the year ahead dates back to the Ancient Babylonian society of 2000 B.C. Akitu was a twelve-day New Year festival in Ancient Babylon that began during the spring equinox in March, marking the start of their farming season. As an agriculturally based society, it was common for many Babylonians to set their resolutions around the return of borrowed farm equipment and farming duties such as planting crops. Other common resolutions centered around repaying debts.
The start of the new year would not be recognized on January 1st like it is today until the Roman Empire adopted the Babylonian New Year and changed the date in 46 B.C. January is named after the Roman god Janus, who has two faces: one that looks backward for reflection and one that looks forward to new beginnings. He is said to be the god of endings and beginnings, transitions, gates, and doorways. To honor Janus, the Romans would make sacrifices and make promises of good behavior for the new year. New Year’s resolutions continued to be practiced throughout the Middle Ages and gained massive popularity by the 17th Century. They have persistently been a commonplace tradition since then.
New Year’s resolutions today
New Year’s resolutions are an age-old tradition that many people still engage in today. It is not uncommon for someone to ask if you have set any goals, intentions, or resolutions at the time of the New Year festivities. Not only is the tradition still alive, but it has not changed much at all. Like the many generations before us, we set resolutions around themes of morality and self-improvement. The new year is viewed almost like a portal where we get an opportunity to wipe ourselves clean of our past regressions while we look forward to presenting a new version of ourselves. Some of the most common New Year’s resolutions include losing or gaining weight, exercising more, eating healthier, saving money, and giving up bad habits such as smoking.
Despite our resolutions being centered around goals and intentions poised to improve our lives, many often fail. The statistics are striking. Research shows that around 80% of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by the second week of February. What is even more revealing is that by the end of the year, only 8% of resolutions are kept and completed. Among the myriad of reasons proposed for the high failure rate for New Year’s resolutions is that people aim for change that is too drastic, overextend themselves, and fail to plan. Also, while major milestones like a new year feel like they require some sort of change to acknowledge and honor them, it is important to assess if we are even ready for change, which many people may not be.
The spiritual reason why many New Year’s resolutions fail
While we understand the reasons for many New Year’s resolutions failing from a psychological and behavioral perspective, many experts have not explored the spiritual reasoning behind this. Those disciplines would have you believe that things like a lack of motivation, specificity, social support, and progress tracking are the only factors, but there is more impacting the minimal success around resolutions. While acknowledging January 1st as the start of the new year corresponded with the Roman belief system, it actually knocked the collective out of alignment with nature and the seasons. Many spiritualists throughout history and across cultures have viewed nature as a great spiritual teacher. While we have to wrestle with man-made environments and social conditioning, nature works purely on instinct and follows the intended path set forth by the creator.
What nature tells us loud and clear is that winter is a time for rest. The nights are longer, plants go dormant or die, and many mammals hibernate to conserve energy while food is scarce. It is completely valid if you feel more tired, lethargic, or sluggish during the wintertime. Your body and energy are inviting you to honor nature and rest, but you have to choose to listen. We live in a society that is centered around work, money, and survival, which tells us that rest is unproductive, lazy, and shameful. This is why resolutions often fail. We are engaging in high-action striving activities to achieve ambitious goals and burning ourselves out before we begin because we are ignoring the call for rest. While rest for us will not look like a full-on hibernation, it can include making time for deep reflection, introspection, and sleep hygiene.
4 things you can do instead
1. Honor nature by working with the seasons
The first thing you can do to have success with your goals and intentions is to align them with the seasons. We have learned that winter is a time for introspection, so after the ball drops, you can use the rest of that time to reflect on the past year, the mistakes you made, and the lessons you have learned. Instead of taking action on your goals right away, use winter to plan them out for the rest of the year. Spring would be the ideal time to take action. The Babylonians had the timing right! The Spring Equinox is considered the astrological new year and the beginning of the Aries season, which is the first sign of the zodiac. Springtime represents renewal because the animals awaken from hibernation, plants begin to bloom, and weather conditions offer a mix of rain and sunshine that promote growth.
Use spring as the launch pad for your “New Year’s resolutions” and for building momentum. By summer, we should be taking full action towards our goals. Summer is when the days are the longest, the nights are the shortest, and the plants are in full bloom. Summer is the season for us to be in full bloom until we collect our harvest in autumn, which is a time for wrapping up our major projects and preparing to slow down. During Autumn, daylight gradually becomes shorter, leaves turn colors, and animals increase their food intake for the impending hibernation season. Then winter comes, and the cycle starts again. Please note that spirituality has exceptions and is not linear. This is a guide for using the energy of the seasons to achieve your goals, but always do what you feel called to in your body and spirit.
2. Identify your why
Another thing you can do to achieve your goals sustainably is to identify your why. In spirituality, we know that intention is the basis for everything. It impacts what we say, what we manifest, and how we show up. Your why is more than just a mere justification for doing something or a means to an end. It is about deep intention setting and connecting with the core of yourself to identify the reasons you are pursuing something or calling things into your 3D reality. Your why can serve as motivation to remind you of the reasons you have set certain goals and resolutions, especially in the moments when achieving them feels difficult. In determining your why, reflect on your core values, listen to your intuition, and think about how achieving said resolution will enable you to raise the collective vibration by being better for yourself and others.
3. Plan, start slow, and go at your own pace
Starting slowly and going at your own pace is another measure to achieve your goals successfully. Other cultures celebrate a different New Year. Many East and Southeast Asian cultures celebrate the Lunar New Year, which is based on the moon’s calendar, while the January 1st New Year is based on the sun’s calendar. In astrology, the sun is associated with our ego or fundamental self, while the moon is associated with our emotions or inner self. You can use both of these events to prepare to start your resolutions. During the period from the January 1st New Year to the Lunar New Year at the end of January or the beginning of February, you can deeply reflect and start identifying your resolutions and goals. Then, from the Lunar New Year onward, you can start processing your feelings about the change you are calling into your life.
As mentioned previously, spring is the ideal time to start working toward your goals, but that does not mean that you have to go full force or over-exert yourself. Instead, start slow and build momentum until fully going after your goals in the summer. Change is not something that people are generally fond of, so implementing small steps forward makes things digestible. Starting slow and going at your own pace also makes it more likely that you will be consistent in achieving your resolution because it doesn’t feel as daunting. The process also feels more rewarding because you are more likely to complete the small steps forward and build upon this feeling of success you are slowly cultivating.
4. Align your goals with the moon cycle
Aligning your actions with the moon cycle is another method for achieving your goals and intentions sustainably and successfully. People often set lofty resolutions that can feel daunting if not broken down into more manageable action steps. If you are looking to align your intentions and goals more deeply with the universe, look no further than the moon cycle. The moon cycle is a gift from the cosmos that helps us break down large goals into monthly, weekly, and daily action items. Comprised of eight distinct phases over a month, the moon cycle follows a similar energetic pattern to the seasons.
At the new moon, we get to set intentions and plant seeds. From there, the energy builds up until the full moon, which is similar to us being in full bloom during the summer. The moon goes through the waxing crescent, first quarter, and waxing gibbous phases before becoming full, which takes roughly two weeks. During that time, the action we take towards our intention should also be building up to this moment of culmination. After the full moon, the energy begins to wane until the next new moon. This is the time to wrap things up with the smaller projects and action steps that we are working on. If there is something that you are still working towards, you can carry that intention over into the next moon cycle. Aligning with the seasons and moon cycle allows you to co-create and connect directly with the will of the universe.
Let’s help you connect with your higher self
Do you want support in successfully achieving your New Year’s Resolutions and beyond? Are you ready to evolve and fully commit to becoming the highest and most authentic version of yourself? Whether you are looking for personalized guidance in creating a spiritual wellness routine tailored to your needs or you simply desire to generate more harmony and alignment in your life, I am here to assist you in crafting your spiritual wellness toolkit and making spiritual self-care a priority to achieve long-lasting change. Check out my service offerings, and book a free 30-minute consultation call to take the first steps toward a journey of transformation and renewal. Your higher self already thanks you!
Disclaimer: The material in this article is for informational purposes only. It does not replace the advice or counsel of a doctor or healthcare professional.
Read more from Lamar Greene
Lamar Greene, Full-Spectrum Doula and Spiritual Coach
Lamar Greene is a passionate reproductive justice advocate who has answered their calling as a healer. Greene is a full-spectrum doula, spiritual life coach, and budding community herbalist motivated by their mother’s birthing narrative and their own life’s journey. They earned their Full Spectrum Doula Certification with Birthing Advocacy Doula Training and completed their Spiritual Life Coach Certification with Transformation Academy™. Their interest in spirituality was sparked in 2017 by a summer study abroad trip, where they lived and learned amongst Tibetan monastic communities in India. They are the founder of Doula Alchemist Healing, a Black and Queer-owned healing practice centered around reproductive justice and spirituality.
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