More than 3 million New Zealanders have made a New Year’s resolution a survey has found - and for one Cromwell local, so far things are on track.

Sophie McKenzie, a Scot living and working in Cromwell, put two goals on her list for 2023.

“I want to run more, and I hate running, so I’ve downloaded a Nike app and it’s helping,” Sophie said. 

“It talks me through even a 15 minute run and plays good music.”

Her other resolution is simple, but powerful: to call family and friends more often.  

“If I leave it too long, it feels like a big deal – I’m trying to phone more often, even for a quick chat.”

The  nationally representative survey of 1,120 respondents revealed a staggering 88 per cent of Kiwis have made a New Year’s resolution.

The survey led with the usual suspects.

Self-care: 45 per cent pledging to exercise more, 32 per cent plan to eat better, and 25 per cent committing to getting more quality sleep.

Finances: 36 per cent looking at ways to increase earnings, 23 per cent hoping to pay off debt, with 20 per cent aspiring to find a better deal on their financial services. Almost one in five have vowed to start a budget.

Spending more time with family is on the list for a quarter of Kiwis, as is having more ‘me’ time (17 per cent) and travelling more (17 per cent).

Do your goals fill you with realistic hope?

Popular wisdom is that it may be better to set goals, rather than make resolutions, and to understand the value of your goals: make sure they inspire you, not defeat you.

It also helps to realise there’s really no “end-point”, it’s about making the desired change an enjoyable, can-do journey.

To avoid your New Year’s resolutions being just a “to-do” list for the first couple of weeks in  January, the standard advice is to set small, realistic goals; change takes time and new habits need to be ingrained. 

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