Even before the Christmas festivity kicks in, Kenyans have already started to draw new year resolutions but as obvious, most of them collapse even before January makes it to the second week.

It is almost tradition at this point. We speak big plans with confidence, sometimes even with excitement, but keeping them becomes a different story.

Also watch: The bittersweet reality of New Year’s resolutions: Hopes, hurdles, and how to make them stick

And if you listen carefully to conversations in matatus, salons, offices or even at home, you will hear the same wishes repeated every year.

So the question is not whether resolutions are good. The question is why we struggle to achieve them, even when we mean well.

And it turns out the answers are not as mysterious as we imagine.

More time with family and friends

This is always at the top for many Kenyans. We promise ourselves that the coming year will be different.

We will visit relatives more often, spend weekends with our children, reconnect with old friends, maybe even revive a friendship that drifted off somewhere along adulthood.

But then life happens. The office demands extra hours. Traffic steals half the day. Bills appear from nowhere.

And slowly the couch becomes a comfortable excuse. It is not that we do not care. We simply underestimate how tired life makes us.

We also fail to schedule time intentionally, so family moments remain dreams whispered, not commitments honoured.

Starting or returning to exercise

January gyms in Kenya look like political rallies. Every treadmill is occupied.

Everyone is full of fire. Then February comes with the breeze of reality.

And by March, machines are empty while memberships continue to deduct money silently.

Why does this resolution fall apart so fast? Because many Kenyans jump in with unrealistic targets.

They want to lose weight quickly, gain muscle quickly, or transform their bodies within weeks. Real change does not respond to pressure.

It responds to consistency. Even a twenty minute walk daily beats a one week fitness marathon that disappears.

Eating healthier

This one is another favourite, especially after the December eating spree. We promise to cut down meat, avoid chips, stop sugary drinks or reduce late night snacking.

The problem is that we try to change everything at once, like switching a whole lifestyle with one decision.

But Kenyan food culture itself tempts us. Chapo from the kibanda. Smokies on every corner. Pilau at every event.

And of course, ugali that calls you at midnight. Unless you plan ahead, healthy eating remains theory. Without preparation, old habits win every time.

Reducing stress

Many Kenyans do not even realise how stressed they are until December slows everything down.

Holidays remind us what peace feels like, and suddenly we swear that next year we will rest more, breathe more and avoid pressure.

But the new year arrives with targets, deadlines, school fees, rising prices and expectations from every direction.

Stress reduction requires boundaries, routines and learning to say no, yet these are skills most people were never taught. So the resolution becomes hope, not action.

Changing work habits

Every year, Kenyans tell themselves that they will leave toxic jobs, ask for a raise, stop carrying work home or even start a side business.

These are powerful goals. They also require courage, and courage is not easy.

Many people fear rejection, fear change, or fear failing. So they postpone the conversation. They postpone the search.

They keep postponing until it becomes another unfulfilled resolution sitting quietly in their minds.

More Articles

---