I generally find New Year's resolutions to be pretty pointless and silly because oftentimes they're unrealistic, set us up for failure, and don't ever happen the way we intend for them to. But I am a fan of making resolutions and acknowledging that they might fail, like in Buzzfeed's just-in-time-for-new-year's video "If We Were Honest About New Year's Resolutions."
Buzzfeed's resolutions include "drinking less beer, except during happy hour," "watching less Netflix, except if auto-play is on" (because let's be real we are all slaves to auto-play), and not "calling my ex-girlfriend, except for when I'm drunk" — all totally realistic expectations for people to have for themselves, paired with equally realistic ways they could fail. Some other note-worthy resolutions from Bustle's own Gabrielle Moss include: stop swearing (until someone cuts you off), get serious about dating (until you reject everyone on OKCupid and sleep with whichever ex is most accessible), and eat better (meaning order salad instead of fries on the side until you hate yourself for it).
New Year's resolutions can be effective for people who have levels of commitment significantly beyond anything I've experienced in my 21 years on this earth, but for everyone else who makes them, it's probably best to just keep it real.
