Do you make New Year’s resolutions? They can help us to identify action steps to make life better in the coming year. How do you want your 2026 to be?
What Kinds of Resolutions Do People Make?
At this time of year, you can find all kinds of articles about “New Year’s Resolutions.” A recent survey indicated that younger people are more likely to make resolutions than older people. (Perhaps those of us who are older have given up on trying to improve ourselves!) Of the choices given in the survey, “exercising more” was the most common resolution, followed by “being happy” and “eating healthier.” Here’s the list of the choices which got at least ten percent of the responses:
- Exercising more (25%)
- Being happy (23%)
- Eating healthier (22%)
- Saving more money (21%)
- Improving physical health (21%)
- Losing weight (17%)
- Improving mental health (16%)
- Learning something new (15%)
- Spending more time with family (15%)
- Praying more (15%)
- Reading more (15%)
- Improving relationships with friends or family (13%)
- Paying down debts (12%)
- Improving home or life organization (12%)
- Traveling (11%)
- Quitting a bad habit (11%)
Less popular resolutions included spending more time with friends, focusing on spiritual matters, pursuing a career goal or a new hobby, getting a new job, moving, volunteering more, showing up on time more often, and getting more involved politically.
Most People’s Resolutions Do Not Include Getting More Involved Politically
Here are my observations on this list. First, with all of the political debate and angst in our society right now, it’s a little surprising that only 4% of people said that they were planning to get more involved politically. (This choice ranked last among the options given in the survey!) My suspicion is that people who are inclined to be politically involved already are, and those who are not are probably just fed up with it all. What that tells me is that if you are someone who ispolitically involved, you should realize that your efforts to cajole others to join you are probably unlikely to succeed.
That is not limited to one side of the political divide. Both sides strive to inspire people to action, though with different methods. Those on the right will often use religious arguments, suggesting that “real Christians” support the current administration. People on the left often try to use logical or intellectual arguments: “how can thinking people go along with what is happening?” The problem is that these are the arguments that are least likely to convince people who don’t already agree with you! People on the right suspect that “liberals” think that they’re all stupid; saying “how can thinking people go along with this?” reinforces that suspicion. Similarly, when people on the right argue from religious perspective, it confirms for people on the left that “conservatives” believe they’re all pagans.
Suggestion: Don’t Include Political Debate in Your Resolutions!
Notice that I placed “liberal” and “conservative” in quotes. I did that because I don’t believe that either group fits the definition that the other side uses for it. Further complicating matters is the fact that there are many conservatives who do not support the current administration, but simply don’t vocally proclaim that fact. The reality is that the administration has adopted a number of policies that are not classically conservative (tariffs, attacks on the constitution and justice system, and its approach to foreign affairs, just to name a few). My point is not to try to claim which side is “right”; my point is that the current attempts to convince “the other side” are doomed to fail, because they simply reinforce each side’s stereotype of the other.
All that is simply to try to explain why so few people are resolving to get more involved in politics. One last observation: you’d think that younger people would be more inclined to get politically active. However, the responses to the survey reflected that younger people were more likely to make these resolutions; the fact that only 4% planned to get more involved politically probably demonstrates that they are as disillusioned with the political debate as everyone else.
Popular Resolutions: Physical and Mental Health
Back to the resolutions. Two other things stand out to me. First, several of the resolutions on the list relate to physical or mental well-being: exercising more, eating healthier, improving physical health, losing weight, improving mental health, and quitting a bad habit all connect back to general well-being. There’s nothing wrong with that; in fact, I’d suggest that all of us should probably resolve to do those things!
The Spiritual Aspect of Physical and Mental Well-Being
The other observation is that there is a connection between mental well-being and spiritual activities. Fifteen percent of people identified “praying more” as a resolution for 2026. Among the other responses, several still had a spiritual element. For example, 9% are planning to “focus more on spiritual matters” in the new year. Also, “being happy,” “improving mental health,” and “improving relationships with friends or family” could also have spiritual components. (In this sense, “spiritual” is not synonymous with “religious.” While religion is a common way for people to express spirituality, it is not the only way.)
For the last several years, I always approached the new year by encouraging the people in the church I pastored to make some resolutions – particularly, to read Scripture more regularly and to engage more with people at church. I retired at the end of 2024, so my “encouragement” is limited to those who read my blog! But I’d still encourage you to resolve to make regular engagement with Scripture a part of your journey.
My Every Year Resolution: Spend Time Engaging Scripture
In fact, my blog arose from my pursuit of a more regular engagement with Scripture. Several years ago, I read a book called Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordeiro. That book describes a daily practice of reading and reflecting on Scripture with the perspective that God always has something He can teach us when we open ourselves to His Word. The reflections include journaling; eventually, I started my blog as a way to be accountable to my congregation that I was doing what I was challenging them to do.
While my blog is no longer limited to those daily reflections, they are still an important part of my journey. And I would encourage any Christian to resolve to spend more time reading and reflecting on Scripture! It’s not just about “checking a box”; it’s a recognition that God speaks to His people through His Word. As Paul told Timothy, all Scripture is inspired by God and “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Apostle Paul’s Resolution: Pressing On
I noted above that younger people are more likely to make resolutions. I know several “more seasoned” people who reject the idea of resolutions. But as long as we’re here, God isn’t done with us! God’s purpose for us is to form us in the image of Jesus. So unless we think we’re already completely like Jesus, God still has work to do in us! (And if we do think we’re completely like Jesus, God has even more work to do in us!)
I invite you to join me this year in more regularly engaging with Scripture. If you do, I encourage you to subscribe to my blog through Patheos. (You can usually find a form to do that when you read one of my posts on Patheos.) It doesn’t cost anything to subscribe; Patheos will just send you an e-mail whenever I publish a new blog post. I also post links to my posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Bluesky, but experience tells me that you may not always see those posts, even if you follow me on those media. And I also encourage you to comment on my posts. You can ask questions, or comment on my observations. I’ll always try to respond!
As Paul wrote to his friends in Philippi: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).
If Paul believed that he needed to continue to press on, then so should we!
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