{"id":665767,"date":"2026-01-01T00:42:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T00:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/665767\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T00:42:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T00:42:27","slug":"pointless-or-empowering-mancunians-tell-us-their-views-on-new-years-resolutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/665767\/","title":{"rendered":"Pointless or empowering: Mancunians tell us their views on New Year’s resolutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Manchester prepares to wave off 2025, we ask its dwellers how they plan to avoid making empty promises to themselves next year.(Image: MEN)<\/p>\n

Making sense of personal goals in a chaotic culture of hustling and wellness is a battle fought differently on all fronts. While New Year’s resolutions, for many, provide a framework to manage their strives for improvement and reflect on achievements, the tradition invites equal resentment.<\/p>\n

According to a survey by SuperNutrio Milk, 74 per cent of Mancunians believe the idea of making a New Year’s resolution to be outdated. And 44 per cent admitted to never having stuck to one in the past, with the average date for pledges to be broken being as soon as January 12.<\/p>\n

Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings comments that “all-or-nothing goals can feel more punishing than empowering,” alternatively promoting “smaller, achievable intentions” with “incremental changes (that) reduce pressure, build momentum and, importantly, help people recognise their own version of progress.”<\/p>\n

In the leadup to New Year’s Eve, the Manchester Evening News asked people on the streets of Manchester about their personal experiences making and keeping their January promises.<\/p>\n

Interior decorator Sam Foad, 31, was one who echoed the sentiment that resolutions seem ‘pointless’. \u201cThey\u2019re just an excuse to wait on being the better version of yourself, when you should just do it,” he said. \u201cIf you want to learn a new skill like playing an instrument, you should just sit down with it for 15, 20 minutes, half-an-hour a day. If you want to get anywhere, you’ve got to be consistent.”<\/p>\n

\"InteriorSam Foad, 31, interior decorator(Image: MEN)<\/p>\n

Sam agreed that a time frame can be a helpful way to measure progress, but said: “I think of it more in terms of equinoxes and seasons compared to the twelve month Gregorian calendar.”<\/p>\n

Liam Day, 39, a teacher from Clayton<\/a>, recalled a successful past resolution to have more non-drinking days than drinking days.<\/p>\n

“I’m very much one of those people that needs to have a record of progress, for example keeping streaks”, he said, adding how this has helped him make healthier daily decisions. “For tracking, there’s an NHS<\/a> app which is really good for people who want to reduce their drinking but don’t want to give it up completely. Even if it was just a beer or a glass of wine with dinner, it allowed me to ask myself if I really want this or not.”<\/p>\n

\"TeacherLiam Day, 39, teacher, Clayton(Image: MEN)<\/p>\n

These attitudes of monitoring drinking were shared by music producer and DJ Ryan Croft, 36. “I don’t promote drinking less because it kind of comes with my job, but I keep myself in check and make sure to no longer drink at every gig,” he told the Manchester Evening News.<\/p>\n

In Ryan’s case striving towards a goal every year has helped him progress towards more ambitious achievements. He added: “This year I aimed to have some music released, which I managed just about in time, and next year I’ll hopefully be able to start my own label to release under.”<\/p>\n

\"MusicRyan Croft, 36, music producer(Image: MEN)<\/p>\n

Accounts manager Elise Perks, 23, says she’s currently striving to reduce screentime, but as a continuous goal rather than one for the New Year.<\/p>\n

She said: “It’s a nice way for people to collectively bring together all their good habits, but they’re something you should try to maintain throughout time rather than just using the first of January as a reason to get back on board with everything.”<\/p>\n

\"AccountElise Perks, 23, account manager, Northern Quarter(Image: MEN)<\/p>\n

“If you don\u2019t follow through you\u2019re just gonna be disappointed in yourself – I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the right attitude to take about it.”<\/p>\n

Helen, 38, set herself goals to be more consistent with fitness, and offered an alternate perspective. She said: “I can understand why people wait until January first to make changes, because they often have more time off to reflect.”<\/p>\n

Advising those struggling with motivation, she added: “If you set the goal with someone else it can help you work towards it together.”<\/p>\n

Multiple people we spoke to commented on their past struggles to stick to self-imposed commitments, including 31-year-old church volunteer, Sangeet.<\/p>\n

“I believe in resolutions but I end up not following them,” he reflected. “By a week I often give up. This year I want to be a better reader, which I’ve managed for the last three weeks, but now comes another dipping point. Now that I’ve had this conversation, I’m going to go home and read at least a page.”<\/p>\n

Carpenter Ross Williams, 30, who travelled up to Manchester for New Year’s Eve,<\/a> similarly recalled: “Two years ago I said I would start running. Two months that lasted – lost the weight, got bored, and ended up back in the pub.” This year, his focus is on traveling and making worthwhile memories.<\/p>\n

\"Carpenter“Lately I’ve tried to implement something before the new year, cause why wait? If you try to set a habit beforehand, then you’re going into the new year already doing it.” Ross Williams, 30, carpenter, Essex(Image: MEN)<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m fed up with being down in the South really so I just wanna get to explore a couple of new places and see where the world takes me,” he added. “I’d like to get to this stage where I can make some stories to tell later on down the line from the things I\u2019ve seen rather than ‘I\u2019ve been to this pub and that pub,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Whatever your resolution may be, rugby player Michael Heywood<\/a>, 30, emphasises the importance of showing up whether you feel like it or not. “I even try to get down for the waterlogged games,” he said. “Performance is a good measure. It could be your man of the matches, participation, so the amount of games you\u2019ve played. My progress is measured by if I enjoy it, the scars that show it, and stats to an extent.”<\/p>\n

\"RugbyMichael Heywood, 30, rugby player(Image: MEN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Manchester prepares to wave off 2025, we ask its dwellers how they plan to avoid making empty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":665768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,6513,2465,37999,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-665767","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-health-and-fitness","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-new-years-eve","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115817070503361369","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=665767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/665767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/665768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=665767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=665767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=665767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}