A lot can change in a year. I know myself this year I am living in a different state, at a different job, and celebrating the turning of the year with a completely different set of friends than last year.

But there is one constant that doesn’t change year after year – the failure of New Year’s resolutions.

It is inevitable. 

Every year people sign up to the same thing: losing weight, saving more money, giving up a vice, or the exceptionally clichéd and corny, “I want to be a better person”.

There can also be more specific or obscure ones, such ceasing to lose keys, streamlining computer passwords, or learning to text on a smart phone using both thumbs. 

Some psychologists think that resolutions can work because people have verbalised their goals, making them more likely to be achieved.

It also makes people more accountable to stick to their resolutions if they’ve told everyone.

A lot of people start out the year with big goals, certain that this year things will change and the resolutions will stick. 

Six weeks later, most people are back smoking more than ever while the newly purchased gym membership has not been used in a couple of weeks.

The reality is that just because it’s a new year doesn’t mean people’s behaviour is going to permanently change.

To avoid disappointment in myself, this year I will make it my resolution not to make a resolution.