What are the most popular New Years Resolutions?

What a great question. Now if my head would just stop throbbing I can think about your question... :-)

No, seriously, a lot of people have been posting their New Years resolutions online so there's a good amount of research data available. Heck, even the US Government compiles data on common resolutions, believe it or not.

Before we go there, however, are you curious about the history of New Years and its resolutions? Here's one that'll surprise you: according to Wikipedia: "Most countries in Western Europe officially adopted January 1 as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. The Feast of the Annunciation, March 25 (9 months before December 25), was the first day of the new year in England until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752."

That means that 300 years ago people would have thought you were a bit loony to declare the eighth day of Christmas as the New Year because they didn't. Probably good that new years resolutions didn't come during the winter feasting anyway, now that I think about it!

Digging around a bit further, I found this:

"According to The Kansas City Public Library website, the tradition of the New Year's resolution was created by the Babylonians 4,000 years ago. The first day of the year for this ancient civilization was March 23 and one of its popular resolutions was to return something borrowed from a friend during the previous year.

"The Romans celebrated the New Year on Jan. 1 and shared a similar tradition with the Babylonians. A common resolution in ancient Rome was to ask forgiveness from enemies of the past year. The Chinese New Year has been celebrated for thousands of years as well. Their New Year is somewhere between late January and early February, one of their resolution customs is housecleaning, which tops many modern-day New Year's resolution lists. Whether or not these civilizations took their resolutions seriously and always achieved what they resolved to do is unknown. Today many resolutions are made with the best intentions, but the majority are not actually met."

Here's what I found from the U.S. Government information site USA.gov:

* Lose Weight
* Manage Debt
* Save Money
* Get a Better Job
* Get Fit
* Get a Better Education
* Drink Less Alcohol
* Quit Smoking Now
* Reduce Stress Overall
* Reduce Stress at Work
* Take a Trip
* Volunteer to Help Others

Psychology Today says that "studies show that the most common New Year's Resolutions are losing weight, exercising more, and quitting smoking. Other popular resolutions include: managing debt, saving money, getting a better job or education, reducing stress, taking a trip or volunteering."

And, finally, USA Today lists resolutions from health experts including "I plan to make time to sit and enjoy my meals", "my 2010 eating resolution: Be more creative with fruit and vegetable recipes" and "I have resolved to get back to tap dancing in 2010"

So there you have it, a wide variety of possible resolutions for you to consider, including learning how to tap dance.

More seriously, good luck to you and your boyfriend with whatever resolutions you decide to make. Remember to keep your resolution focus narrow too. As one expert says: "just choose one priority for the new year, one area that needs the most time and attention."

Oh, and Happy New Year too. I don't think we need to wait until March... :-)