As consumers shift from holiday mode into the month of January, a new survey from the Barna Group explores what Americans describe as their New Year’s resolutions. More than 90 million adults (41%) say they will make such personal pledges in 2011, representing roughly two-fifths of the nation’s population. When it comes to the types of resolutions people make, Americans not surprisingly focus on self-oriented changes. Among those planning to make resolutions, the top pledges for 2011 relate to weight, diet and health (30%); money, debt and finances (15%); personal improvement (13%); addiction (12%); job and career (5%); spiritual or church-related (5%); and educational (4%). Personal improvement responses included being a better person; giving more; having more personal or leisure time; organizing their life or home; and having a better life in general. Churches and faith communities have a significant opportunity to help people identify what makes for transformational change and how to best achieve those objectives – especially by relying on goals and resources beyond their individualism, according to David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group.
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