Resources: Talking point - Are New Year's resolutions worth making?

Talk to young people about the point of making New Year's resolutions.

Is it just a meaningless habit? Do people just like kidding themselves?

Or is there some serious purpose in setting out what you want to achieve in the coming year?

It is estimated that only about one in five people manage to keep their resolutions. Why do young people think the other 80 per cent fail? Is it because many are unrealistic or badly chosen? Talk to young people about what might improve the success rate.

Typical resolutions include wanting to get fitter and lose weight, become less stressed, take up a new hobby or interest, give up smoking and cut down on drinking. Talk about why these crop up year after year. Why are they so hard to achieve? Discuss whether failure is usually a question of low motivation - many people agree to resolutions that sound good but that they are not properly interested in keeping - or whether it is more likely to be because the forces the person does not control are too powerful. Are some people just weak-willed?