Resolutions through an Arab Lens

posted on: Dec 31, 2025

By: Diksha Tyagi/Arab America Contributing Writer

Around the world, January 1st each year carries a special significance. New Year’s resolutions are often the chosen ritual for starting fresh: through reflection, planning, and goal setting, many dream of a coming year filled with accomplishments. These aspirations aren’t naive; with the right approach, resolutions can definitely lead to meaningful change. However, certain contributors to this success are often overlooked. Adequate goal setting depends on a variety of factors, and a look at Arab communities can help us see this.

The Neuroscience behind Resolutions

Between 30% and 48% of Americans set New Year’s resolutions annually. However, only 9% actually keep their resolutions. Why is this the case?

Neuroscientists name multiple reasons. In making resolutions and imagining a future self, the brain releases a surge of dopamine. This is the neurotransmitter associated with motivation. However, this spike happens during planning, not execution. Therefore, once the novelty fades away, dopamine activity drops, decreasing motivation. This is why mid-January sees the end of many resolutions.

The brain’s prefrontal cortex is also incredibly involved in this process. Since it oversees planning, decision-making, and impulse control, resolutions must take into account its workings. Though powerful, the prefrontal cortex tires easily, especially under stress. Since the majority of resolutions are vague and without structure, the PFC struggles to regulate behavior consistently. This causes the brain to revert back to easier habits, giving up on new resolutions.

Finally, the brain consumes a disproportionate amount of the body’s energy, 20% even though it’s only 2% of the body’s weight. It must therefore use its resources. The brain needs a constant supply of glucose and oxygen, and the energy that these provide is allocated to what the brain thinks of as most valuable. Goals without personal significance are therefore not prioritized and most likely to be given up on.

Arab Community Values

Western culture often places self-improvement in the individual sphere, being more individualistic. Individualistic societies tend to prioritize personal autonomy and individual reliance over group needs. Arab cultures, however, have historically been more collectivist. In such societies, the self tends to be understood in relation to family, community, and social responsibility.

In many Gulf states, for example, adult children remain in the family home until marriage. Families are often consulted when making major life decisions, to percentages around 50% higher in Arab countries compared to Western ones. The Arab countries of Lebanon and Jordan also have the highest ratio of refugees to inhabitants in the world. This again demonstrates their emphasis on community and society over individualism.

Collectivist Resolutions

Collectivist values lead to collectivist goals, where ambitions are often related to social contribution and well-being of loved ones. In fact, from a psychological perspective, collectivist resolutions also have an advantage. 

Firstly, telling others one’s goals has been shown to increase the success of resolutions by at least 35%, and in some studies up to 65%. This is simply because making a commitment to another person increases accountability, and doing this is more common in collectivist contexts since others are naturally included in such decisions. 

Secondly, goals related to family, community, and cultural values also carry deeper emotional significance than certain individualistic goals. Emotionally meaningful goals activate the limbic system, the part of the brain that processes emotion, reward, and value. Valuable goals make the limbic system signal to the hippocampus, which encodes long-term memories. The hippocampus will work to encode these habits, cementing them in the mind.

Successful Resolutions

To make resolutions truly last, then, multiple factors should be accounted for. The prefrontal cortex works the best with clarity. So, the best resolutions are made with specific objectives, set routines, and manageable steps.

To create long-term motivation past aspirational dopamine releases, resolutions should also carry emotional significance. These can be individualistic or collective, but the brain’s limbic system should be activated and decide that this goal is worth it. When resolutions are tied to personal identity, cultural values, and family or community, you’re more likely to follow through. If these resolutions directly impact one’s loved ones, the likelihood of just giving up on it is reduced. 

Altogether, successful resolutions aren’t just individual. They can be enhanced through multiple ways, especially if communal values are considered as well. In the Arab world, resolutions connected to strengthening community and helping others are the most promising, since they carry emotional and collective weight. Structured, specific goals centered around aspects like education, civic engagement, and cultural preservation, for example, could lead to immense changes in this coming year.

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