You felt so motivated on January 1st. Everyone did. The gym was packed, your fridge was full of kale, and that meditation app actually got opened more than once. But look at the calendar. It’s January 17th. Today is officially National Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day, and honestly? It’s probably the most relatable holiday on the books.
Stats don't lie. Most people don't even make it to February. Researchers at the University of Scranton have tracked this for years, and the drop-off is steep. About 23% of people quit their resolutions by the end of the first week. By today, that number skyrockets. Why? Because life happened. The "new year, new me" energy hit a wall of cold weather, work deadlines, and the simple reality that change is exhausting.
The Science of the "Quitter’s Day" Phenomenon
We often blame a lack of willpower, but that’s a bit of a cop-out. It’s more about how our brains are wired. When you set a massive goal—like losing 30 pounds or writing a novel—your brain treats it as a threat to your established routine. Dr. Phillippa Lally, a health psychology researcher at University College London, famously studied habit formation and found it takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a new behavior to become automatic.
The average? Sixty-six days.
If you’re doing the math, January 17th is nowhere near 66 days. You’re currently in the "valley of disappointment." This is the phase where the initial excitement has evaporated, but the results haven't shown up yet. It’s the hardest part. National Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day exists because this is the exact moment when the friction of a new habit feels heavier than the benefit of the goal.
Why January 17th Specifically?
It isn't just a random date picked out of a hat. Strava, the fitness tracking giant, analyzed over 800 million user-logged activities and pinpointed a specific day when fitness resolutions tend to falter. They actually call it "Quitters Day," and it usually falls on the second Friday of January. This year, the timing lines up almost perfectly with the 17th.
Think about the cycle. Week one is pure adrenaline. Week two is "I can do this, but it’s getting annoying." By week three—right now—you’re tired. The novelty is gone. If you missed a day because you were sick or busy, the "all-or-nothing" mindset kicks in. You think, well, I already ruined the streak, might as well stop. That’s the trap.
What Most People Get Wrong About Success
We treat resolutions like a sprint. They aren't. They’re more like trying to steer a massive cargo ship in a new direction; it takes a lot of time and a lot of room to turn.
One of the biggest mistakes is setting "outcome goals" instead of "process goals." An outcome goal is "I want to save $5,000." A process goal is "I will set up an automatic transfer of $50 every week." If you only focus on the $5,000, you feel like a failure every day you aren't there yet. If you focus on the $50, you win every single week.
The Problem With Perfectionism
Perfectionism kills more resolutions than laziness ever could. We have this weird idea that if we don't do it perfectly, it doesn't count. Missed the gym? Resolution over. Ate a slice of pizza? Diet's dead. This binary thinking is why National Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day is so popular. It gives us an "out." It lets us say, "Oh, it's a national day, I'm allowed to quit now."
But what if you didn't quit? What if you just scaled back?
If your goal was to go to the gym five days a week and you haven't gone once, don't ditch the resolution. Just change it to two days. Or one. Scaling down is better than dropping out.
Real Strategies to Survive This Week
If you’re on the verge of giving up today, you’ve got to change the game. You can’t rely on the same energy you had on New Year's Eve because that version of you was drunk on optimism. The "January 17th version" of you is tired and realistic. Use that to your advantage.
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- Shrink the goal until it’s easy. If you wanted to read a book a week, read one page a night. Seriously. Just one. It keeps the habit alive without the psychological burden.
- The "Never Miss Twice" Rule. Life happens. You will miss a day. The rule is you can never miss two days in a row. Missing once is an accident; missing twice is the start of a new habit of not doing the thing.
- Audit your environment. If you’re trying to eat better but your pantry is still full of holiday leftovers, you’re fighting a losing battle. Stop testing your willpower and start designing your surroundings.
Is It Ever Okay to Actually Ditch the Resolution?
Actually, yeah. Sometimes quitting is the smartest move you can make.
If you set a resolution because you felt pressured by social media or because you "should" want something, you’re going to fail anyway. Genuine change comes from internal desire, not external shame. If you realize on January 17th that you actually hate training for a marathon and you’d much rather just take long walks with your dog, ditch the marathon.
Life is too short to pursue goals you don't actually care about just because the calendar flipped to January.
Moving Forward Without the Guilt
The guilt of "failing" a resolution is a useless emotion. It doesn't help you get back on track; it just makes you want to hide under the covers with a bag of chips. If you’re celebrating National Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day today, do it intentionally.
Take a look at what worked for the last 16 days. Did you enjoy any part of it? If you were trying to wake up at 5:00 AM and you hated every second of it, maybe 5:00 AM isn't for you. Maybe 6:30 AM is the sweet spot. Use today as a "re-calibration day" rather than a "quit day."
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Actionable Next Steps
Instead of throwing the towel in completely, try these three things before the day ends:
- Identity the Friction: Ask yourself exactly why you want to quit. Is the goal too big? Is the timing wrong? Write down the one thing making it hard.
- The Two-Minute Version: Turn your resolution into a version that takes two minutes or less. If it’s "clean the whole house," make it "clean one drawer." Do that today.
- Find a "Low-Bar" Win: Do one tiny thing related to your goal right now. Not tomorrow. Not Monday. Right now. If you wanted to drink more water, go drink one glass.
Success isn't about the grand gesture you made on January 1st. It's about the boring, tiny choices you make on a random Tuesday like January 17th. You don't have to be perfect; you just have to be slightly better than the version of you that gave up last year.