How to Talk About New Year's Resolutions

For many people, the start of a new year is a chance to make important changes or improvements in their lives. Maybe they want to try something new, or perhaps they want to stop a bad habit, like eating too much fast food. These are called "New Year's resolutions." And because everyone has different goals, New Year's resolutions are always a popular conversation topic in the first few weeks of January.

"Resolution" is the noun form of the verb "to resolve," which means to make a definite decision to do something. So a New Year's resolution is like a promise that you make to yourself about what you will do in the next 12 months.

Perhaps you have some New Year's resolutions of your own, or maybe you would just like to be able to ask your friends about theirs. To help you do that, let's look at some common resolutions and how you can easily discuss them.

The Most Popular New Year's Resolutions

Here we've listed 10 of the most common New Year's resolutions in the US and examples of how you can talk about them in English. You will notice that people often use common phrases like "I want to~" or "We plan to~" to discuss them. This means that you can also use many of these examples to help you talk about your general goals or wishes for the future any time of year!

Exercise more

Getting more exercise is often at the top of a lot of popular resolutions lists. Over a third of people around the world don't get enough exercise, and it can be difficult to do so if you have a busy schedule. These resolutions can be quite general or very specific.

Lose weight

Obesity is a growing problem around the world and losing weight is a lot harder than gaining it! So it's no surprise that losing weight is the top goal for many when it's time to make resolutions. This goal may include more specific targets than simply exercising more. For example, people may want to lose a certain number of pounds/kilograms or be able to fit a particular size of clothing.

Save money/spend less

The beginning of the year is often when people take a serious look at their finances to decide if they need to make changes. This is especially true if any major events have happened that might affect their salary or employment status. Inflation is a big issue in a lot of countries right now, so this resolution may be even more popular in 2023.

Improve or change one's career

People often look for ways to improve themselves not only personally but also professionally when a new year begins. That could mean doing things like applying for a new job or doing some training that can help them get a higher salary.

A dead-end job is one that doesn't have opportunities for growth in the future.

Spend more time with family and friends

While some people want to focus more on their work, others may feel like their job is already taking too much of their time away from their loved ones. For people in this situation, the new year can be a chance to change things.

People often say "the kids" or "the family" when talking about their own.

Start a new hobby or learn a new skill

Have you been interested in scuba diving, learning to paint, or perhaps speaking a foreign language? What's stopped you from giving it a try? The new year is when many people decide to finally get started.

Spend less time on social media

Thirteen percent of people who responded to a survey on resolutions said their goal in 2022 was to reduce the time they spent using social media. While apps like Instagram and TikTok can be fun or even useful, there are many people who use these services more than a healthy amount.

A "time suck" or "time sink" is a negative term for an activity that requires or wastes a lot of time.

Decorate or remodel a home

The beginning of the year is often when many people finally decide they are going to start that home improvement project they've been thinking about. That could mean updating or repairing a part of their home that is old or damaged, or even adding something completely new like a patio.  

Quit smoking

About 23% of the world's population are smokers, just a little bit higher than the percentages in Japan, Korea and Thailand, where most of our readers are from. But many of those smokers would like to "kick the habit," or quit, and the new year is often when they make a decision to put cigarettes away.

Do volunteer or charity work

As you can see, most resolutions are focused on improving one's life or health in some way. However, some people make the kind decision to use their time and energy to help others in the new year.

Conclusion

Have you made any resolutions for the new year? If so, you'll probably have many chances to talk about them with your friends and colleagues, so we hope these examples will help you to say exactly what's on your mind.

By the way, if improving your language skills is one of your goals, Engoo has many friendly and experienced tutors who can help you achieve it, whether it's scoring better on a test or understanding your favorite movies and TV shows. Start the new year off on the right foot!