How Yoga Enhances New Year’s Resolutions and Goal Achievement
While I have big goals for 2025, I didn’t make any new year’s resolutions in the traditional sense and I’m not the only one. According to a December 2024 YouGov survey, a majority of Americans (55%) are not making new year’s resolutions for 2025. Only about a third committed to a resolution while 14% were undecided.(5) The number of people making new year's resolutions has been slowly but steadily declining for the past two years, particularly with adults over 30.(6)(7)
The other 45% did make resolutions and they are focused on improving their physical well-being. Interestingly, “being happy” was the top resolution in 2023 and 2024 but has since dropped to fourth place.(5)(6)(7)
Top five resolutions for 2025:(5)
Save more money - 26%
Improving physical health - 22%
Exercising more - 22%
Being happy - 22%
Eat healthier - 20%
Setting goals is essential for self-development and growth, but unfortunately, New Year’s resolutions often come with the expectation of failure. The success rate for these resolutions is typically low. For example, a 2024 study revealed that 94% of participants (1,000 people) had abandoned their resolution by the end of February.(4)
However, not all reports are disheartening. A PLoS One study based on 2017 resolutions found that, at the one-year mark, 50% to 60% of the 1,066 participants felt successful in achieving their goals. The study concluded that approach-oriented goals were more successful than avoidance-oriented goals, with success rates of 58.9% and 47.1%, respectively. Approach-oriented goals focus on achieving a positive outcome, such as "I want to improve my physical health so I can do more activities with my kids," while avoidance-oriented goals focus on avoiding a negative outcome, like "I want to improve my physical health so I don’t need hip surgery."(1)(3)
The PLoS One study also highlighted the stronger the support system, the more likely a person would achieve their resolution. Participants with a robust support network were more likely to succeed.(3) Even simple actions like writing down your goal in a journal can increase your chances of success, and sharing your progress with a friend, particularly through weekly check-ins, can boost your success even more.(2)
Yogic Philosophy of the Yamas and Niyamas
The yogic philosophy of the yamas and niyamas offers an ideal framework for any resolution, particularly the niyama of svadhyaya, or self-reflection. The yamas and niyamas are the first two limbs of the 8-limb path of yoga, laying the foundation.
The yamas are attitudes or behaviors that shape one’s relationship with the world, including with the self. The niyamas, on the other hand, are attitudes or behaviors directed primarily toward oneself. There are five yamas: ahimsa (kindness), satya (sincerity), asteya (right use of time), brahmacharya (right use of energy), and aparigraha (letting go). The five niyamas are: saucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (discipline), svadhyaya (self-reflection), and ishvara pranidhana (surrender to a higher power).
Achieving any goal requires self-discipline (tapas), which is supported by the right use of time (asteya) and energy (brahmacharya). However, before any action is taken, a yogi always begins with kindness (ahimsa). Regardless of the goal, we treat ourselves with compassion and respect, refraining from harmful activities toward ourselves or others.
Using Svadhyaya to Support New Year’s Resolution
Let’s say you set a New Year’s resolution to exercise more. You start by taking out your journal and practicing self-reflection (svadhyaya), writing about why you want to exercise. What outcomes do you hope for? What did past attempts look like? What potential obstacles might you face? Are there activities you dislike? What do you love? Do you prefer solo activities, group ones, or both? Do you prefer indoor or outdoor exercise? What types of fitness studios and gyms are convenient for you? Write down whatever comes to mind.
Taking the time to honestly (satya) reflect on where you are now, where you want to be, and how your past behaviors have shaped your current mindset will not only inform your action plan but also make it stronger by tailoring it to you. Once you have a clearer understanding of your goal and the reasons behind it, you’ll be ready to plan how to allocate your time and energy.
For instance, let’s say you write in your journal that you want to exercise more to relieve back pain caused by sitting at your desk all day. While there are several ways to address your desk situation, you recognize that the best thing you can do is move your body. You were more active when you were younger, but due to career changes, you’ve become more sedentary. This information makes you decide that the best way to relieve your back pain is by exercising more.
You do a quick Google search and see that running is one of the top trending fitness activities. You hate running. It takes a lot of effort to motivate yourself to put on sneakers and jog around the neighborhood. There’s no one to talk to, and even if you could, it’s hard to talk while running and breathing. Plus, the hard pavement, sweat, and unpredictable weather make running feel even less appealing. There are so many factors that could derail your fitness goal.
You’d much rather dance. You took ballet classes as a child and loved it. Dancing is something you’ve always enjoyed, and you can easily see yourself attending classes. As you continue reflecting in your journal, you realize you prefer group activities to solo ones. A scheduled activity that involves other people and is held indoors is something you can see yourself sticking with.
When you look for fitness studios and gyms in your area, you search for dance classes and find a barre studio nearby. While it's not exactly a dance class, it’s ballet-inspired and is a group activity. The cost is reasonable, and they offer beginner classes that fit into your schedule. By wisely using your time and energy (asteya and brahmacharya) and sticking to a schedule, you practice self-discipline (tapas).
However, after attending a few barre classes, you realize that while you like it, you don’t love it. The workout is fine, and your back is feeling better. Your body feels stronger and more flexible, but barre lacks the artistic flair you get from dance. As you reflect on your barre experience, you acknowledge that you’re just not excited about going to class, and that’s perfectly okay. Recognizing the truth of your feelings and giving yourself the grace to change your mind is a practice of the first two yamas—ahimsa (kindness) and satya (honesty). Letting go of what no longer serves you (aparigraha) brings you closer to your goal than sticking with an activity you don’t enjoy.
You remember that during your earlier search, you found a few yoga studios nearby. After trying a few yoga classes, you love it. The dynamic movement feels more fluid, and you’re mentally stimulated in new ways. Yoga isn’t dance, but every class is different, and there are so many styles to explore. The people at the studio are cool, and you’ve even made a few new friends. A few months later, a dance studio opens nearby. While you love yoga, the new dance studio excites you, though you worry that hopping from one activity to another might make you seem flaky or not serious about your health.
Returning to your journal, you reflect and see that, even though you’ve changed your fitness routines a few times, you’ve remained consistent—and most importantly, your back feels great. You’ve consistently dedicated time and energy to your fitness, whether through one activity or several. You’re still on track with your resolution.
Your self-reflection practice has kept track of how your fitness journey makes you feel and what excites you most. Over the past year, you’ve explored new movements and learned so much about yourself. As a result, you’ve met new people and expanded your social support system.
Letting go of limiting beliefs, you sign up for dance classes at the new studio, excited to move in new ways and meet new people. There’s no reason you can’t enjoy more than one activity—yoga and dance both offer unique benefits. The biggest takeaway is that you’ve learned how to care for yourself with thoughtful consideration, and you’ve successfully achieved your goal of using exercise to alleviate your back pain.
Concluding Thoughts
A goal-oriented mindset and a strong support system are essential for sticking to a New Year’s resolution. Goals that focus on positive self-improvement are often more motivating than those centered around eliminating negative traits. Treating yourself with kindness is the first step in creating a meaningful resolution. This is where the framework of the yamas and niyamas shines as the ideal support system. By approaching your goal with compassion and self-reflection, you can craft a plan that uses your time and energy wisely, making the journey feel more effortless. Journaling provides a valuable way to track progress and monitor how you're feeling along the way. This reflection is crucial, especially if you ever feel the need to shift your direction, as it helps you clarify your next steps. To sustain your motivation, support your loved ones in their goals, just as they support yours. A yoga-inspired perspective can transform New Year’s resolutions from average goals into an exciting journey of personal growth.
Bibliography
1 - Hangen, Emily J., Andrew J. Elliot, Jeremy P. Jamieson. “Highlighting the Difference Between Approach and Avoidance: Motivation Enhances the Predictive Validity of Performance-Avoidance Goal Reports.” Motivation and Emotion 43, no. 3 (2019): 387-399.
2 - Matthews, Gail. “The Impact of Commitment, Accountability, and Written Goals on Goal Achievement.” Dominican University of California, Psychology, Faculty Presentations 3 (2007): 1-3.
3 - Oscarsson, Martin, Per Carlbring, Gerhard Andersson, Alexander Rozental. “A Large-Scale Experiment on New Year’s Resolutions: Approach-Oriented Goals Are More Successful Than Avoidance-Oriented Goals.” PLoS One 15, no. 12 (2020).
4 - Rozen, Michelle. The 6% Club: Unlock the Secret to Achieving Any Goal and Thriving in Business and Life, 6. John Wiley and Sons, 2024.
5 - YouGov. “YouGov Survey: New Year’s Resolutions (December 9 - 11, 2024).”
6 - YouGov. “YouGov Survey: New Year’s Resolutions (December 11 - 14, 2023).”
7 - YouGov. “YouGov Survey: New Year’s Resolutions (December 16 - 21, 2022).”
Cultivating Chill hopes you found the content informative and helpful. If you have any questions or want to share anything, please feel free to leave a comment.
Disclaimer: Cultivating Chill is a space where we explore various topics about yoga, yoga science, and all the yoga things in-between. As a result, there may be content that may not align with personal points of view or beliefs. Neither Cultivating Chill nor any authors are trying to judge or claim authority on a topic. Cultivating Chill is a safe space to share ideas, information, and more about yoga–we are exploring and growing and open to trying new things.
Please feel to take what speaks to you and leave the rest.