Every year, millions of people in the US make a pact to change their lifestyle or habits for the new year. This pact is also known as a New Year resolution. But is it really a resolution if we’re not changing?

So many people fail to continue their New Year’s resolution that the second Friday of January is noticed as Quitter’s Day, where the majority of people participating in a resolution call it quits, and only a whopping 8 percent of people follow through on them, as stated by Drive Research. If anything, making a New Year’s resolution is quite meaningless, but it doesn’t have to be. 

Instead of looking down on things done wrong in the current or previous year, Wiccans looked at the positives of those years and celebrated as they should be. For centuries, Wiccans and Pagans have celebrated the Witches’ New Year every Samhain (October 31st), where they honored their dead, celebrated achievements from the year before and planned for the year ahead. Plans included cleaning their house, cleansing their alters or meditation spaces, growing or tending to a garden and writing down goals that can positively impact them. Wiccans also created flower crowns and corsages, where, upon toasting to the new year, they set fire to them to release themselves of the old year and welcome the new one. 

Society tends to look at resolutions as a way to be better in the upcoming year, however, that immediately sets a false mentality within their resolution. In addition to setting a false mentality for the new year, creating resolutions can lead to feelings of self-criticism and inadequacy.

If we could reflect on things we’ve achieved this year as Wiccans do, we will have a much better outlook on the upcoming year as well as less stress put on ourselves.