It’s hard enough to commit to making a change, let alone sticking with it throughout the year. Now that we’re nearly two months into the new year, it’s time to check in on the resolutions we set for ourselves. CivicScience reported at the beginning of the year that nearly 60% of American adults planned to make a New Year’s resolution for 2019; the most popular resolutions being health & wellness related: improving food / diet and better fitness / exercise.

As of February 5, 2019, almost two-thirds of U.S. adults who made a New Year’s resolution have kept it.

Health & Wellness Resolutions are Harder to Maintain

Despite being the most popular topics for resolutions this year, health & wellness related goals appear to be the hardest to see through.

Diving deeper into the data, we see that nearly half of US. adults who made a resolution to quit smoking / drinking have been unable to keep it. This is followed by improving food / diet and better fitness / exercise, as one-quarter of adults who made these resolutions have failed to stick with them thus far. Maybe it’s because Dry January is over? Maybe it’s because the cold has kept everyone inside and away from the gym? Whatever the reason, it’s clear that non-health & wellness related resolutions have seen a better success rate.

Age & Gender

Just as younger people are more likely to make a resolution, younger people are also more likely to keep their resolutions. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults 18-29 have kept their New Year’s resolution.

CivicScience reported previously that younger adults were much more likely than all other age groups to make a resolution focused around their relationships / personality. This was one of the resolutions most likely to have been kept up with among all U.S. adults, so it’s no surprise that younger people are also more likely to have kept up with their resolutions overall.

Looking at gender, men and women seem to be just as likely to have stuck with their resolutions.

Happy People are More Likely to Stick with Resolutions

More than three-quarters of happy people report having kept up with their New Year’s resolutions; they are nearly 3x more likely to do so compared to those who are unhappy.  

Hats off to everyone who took the new year as an opportunity to reflect and make a change in their lives. And to everyone who has kept their resolution thus far: keep up the good work, only about 10 more months to go!