A Brief History of New Year’s Resolutions
At this time of year, many people are setting resolutions and intentions for the year. Historically, this goes all the way back to 4,000+ years ago in Ancient Babylon, when people made promises made to the gods. The resolutions of those days were more along the lines of “return borrowed tools” and “repay debts,” and less “new year, new me.”
Over time this process has evolved to become the self improvement practice that we have today.
In the United States, research shows that roughly 40% of people set New Year’s resolutions and most (anywhere from 23%-88% of those people) abandon them within weeks.
New Year’s Resolutions, Consumerism, and Capitalism
Since this idea of resolutions is as predictable as the new year, corporations can use this as a basis for marketing campaigns. You see a spike of fitness companies, diet programs, planners, apps, and wellness services ramp up advertising precisely because people are thinking about self improvement and change.
Some people take the idea even further and suggest that in a capitalist society (and we all know we live in one that’s arguably late stage capitalist at this point) companies prey on people with that knowledge. The idea is that capitalism thrives on the sense that we’re not quite good enough, we need to improve, and that improvement often involves spending on what they are selling.
What Can We Do Instead?
Rather than making resolutions that we probably aren’t going to keep or buy tons of things that we aren’t going to use, we’re making monthly bucket lists. Each month we’re putting together ideas of things that are seasonal, intentional, and enjoyable. Things we WANT to do. Then we’ll pick as many as we like and do those. Not because of some resolution or because we don’t feel good enough as we are, but because we want to enjoy life.
This isn’t about self improvement. It’s about choosing what actually feels good. Come back each month for new bucket list ideas… or borrow ours to start your own.
The Monthly Bucket Lists (2026)
January – The Month of Soft Defiance
February – The Month of Tender Rebellion
March – The Month of Uncontained Energy (coming soon)
April – The Month of Active Hope (coming soon)
May – The Month of Shared Radiance (coming soon)
June – The Month of Embodied Joy (coming soon)
July – The Month of Public Courage (coming soon)
August – The Month of Strategic Care (coming soon)
September – The Month of Deliberate Gathering (coming soon)
October – The Month of Sacred Mischief (coming soon)
November – The Month of Ancestral Reckoning (coming soon)
December – The Month of Intentional Closure (coming soon)
