Have you made New Year's goals in January or at the beginning of the year? Every time a new year begins, people set out to improve themselves. This tradition started in Babylon about 4,000 years ago.
At that time, the calendar in Babylon was different from the one we have today. Local people saw the Akitu Festival as the beginning of the year. This festival was in late March. It celebrated the rebirth of the sun god Marduk. During the festival, people made promises to work harder in the new year. They thought this would help them to be blessed (祝福) by their god.
The old tradition continues to this day, but does it work well? According to a 2022 report by Timemagazine, about 80% of people give up on their New Year's goals by February. Only 8% continue with their goals for the whole year.
How can we, then, stick to our goals for the new year? Scientist Britt Frank offers her advice. "We often set overly high goals for the future," she said. "In fact, we should honestly consider why we have failed in the past. This will help us make good goals and stick to them better!"