Resolutions, especially those of the new year variety, have always been a bit of a curiosity. More recent studies would suggest that approximately 8% of people actually keep their resolutions, despite the staggering number of people who make them. That means, year after year, roughly 90% of the 'resolvers' don't actually use the word resolve in any sense of its definition. Resolving, and a resolution, is supposed to be a firm, definite, and serious decision to do something. If 9 in 10 people are failing to keep up their resolution, how could anyone possibly say that the tradition of new year's resolutions makes any sense? They might as well be called new year's hopes, wishes, or dreams.
This time last year, BMI suggested that making a resolution is a secondary step in the process; the real first step is to make a resolution just that: resolute. Cultivating the discipline to follow through with the resolution is substantially more important than the goal itself, since the motivation of the new year, new me mentality fades fast. January 17th is Blue Monday this year. By the third Monday of the month, most resolutions have been dropped or forgotten, the credit card bills from Christmas have arrived, and the post-holiday relaxation has started to fade. Blue Monday is believed to be the most depressing day of the year. It doesn't have to be, though.
The mentality of having resolutions, and that the mere making of resolutions will affect change, is flawed from conception. Nothing changes unless you actively and consistently change it. Utilizing a specific day on the calendar, or a dated tradition, to try and inspire change is simply insufficient. Instead, borrow a page from BMI, and focus on Perpetual Refinement. Small, consistent, bit-by-bit change that you take an active part in will be extremely effective, for the simple reason that forward progress, no matter how slow, will put you further ahead than a dropped resolution.