People use the new year as an excuse to change who they are, and that's the thing, you have every single day to do that, so why wait until the next year? If that is your motivation, that you have to wait just to gain the courage to change, then I predict most resolutions to fail. Today is a fact, tomorrow is a myth. Stop waiting.

Go ahead and prove me wrong and show me when you achieve your goal(s) but this is how I see it.  I try every day to move forward and watch people around me being lazy so I don't believe a resolution will change that but as I said prove me wrong.  Use this as motivation to prove me wrong.  But I'm always right, just ask me, I'll tell you :P

I feel like people make New Years resolutions not because they were building up courage to do it, but instead that its a new year or a "fresh start" for most people. That's the reason.

Any day is an arbitrary day to begin to improve yourself. Why not make the arbitrary selection that many other people also choose?

The trick to not failing is to tell everyone about it; people who will hold you to it when you fall short.