“I usually don’t make them, because I’m not very good at keeping them,” said Simmons. “It started to become pointless. Why say I’m going to make all these changes if I’m not?”

If Simmons decides to make a resolution this year, he plans on it being “generic.”

“I probably won’t make any [resolutions] unless it’s something generic like ‘I’m going to be nicer this year,’ or ‘I’m going to be more productive.’”

Although Nietfeld respects people who manage to keep their resolutions, she doesn’t count herself among them.

“I admire people who say in July that they are still focusing attention on the resolution they made in January,” said Nietfeld. “I’m not one of those people.”

Lindsey has managed to keep one resolution.

“If you’re asking about outrageous resolutions, the most outrageous one I’ve ever made is to make no more resolutions,” said Lindsey. “Ironically, I’ve kept it.”

New Year’s eve brings a lot of festivities, so it’s no wonder people don’t keep - or sometimes even remember - making resolutions. Simmons is a member of that club.

“Once my ex-girlfriend and I said that we were going to argue less,” he said. “We ended up fighting shortly after midnight at a New Year’s eve party.”

Although Nietfeld refrains from making resolutions, she believes strongly in the power of a fresh start.

“In general, hope seems to rise this time of year,” she said. “It’s a great time to celebrate with hopeful resolutions or seeing possibilities or preparing for what’s next - whatever we call it.”

History of the New Year’s resolution

The first day of a calendar year is one of the world’s oldest holidays. The Babylonians are known to have celebrated the new year approximately 4,000 years ago, and this ancient civilization is credited by some with originating an annual tradition still going strong: The New Year’s resolution.

The first day of the new Babylonian year was considered to be March 23, and a common Babylonian New Year’s resolution was their custom of returning something borrowed from a friend over the course of the previous year.

The Romans used a different calendar and named the first month of the year after the mythical figure Janus, a symbol of beginnings and endings, whose two faces allow him to look both forward and backward in time.