It is that time again when so many Americans are making their annual New Year’s resolutions.

So many of us make these resolutions, only to see them drift by slowly as our time is consumed with work and family.

About 45 percent of Americans resolve to try and make themselves better in some way. The statistics say that 75 percent of people stick to their goals for at least a week, but less than half of these people are still on target six months later. It seems that the older we get, the less that we are willing to work to achieve our resolutions.

It would be an interesting study to see how fast-food restaurant orders for food change after the first of the year when everyone is eating healthy for a few days. I would think that a lot more salads are consumed as well as more chicken sandwiches than hamburgers.

I have made many of these New Year’s resolutions, only to fall behind like so many other Americans in keeping up on what I started. It is always easy to convince yourself to try and change something, and then just as easy to say you don’t have time to do them.

These are some of the most popular resolutions for 2016 and I’m sure that many of you have had one or two of these on your list at some point in your life:

— Lose weight and get fit

— Eat healthier and diet

— Travel to new places

— Get out of debt and save money

— Drink less

— Quit smoking

— Volunteer

— Be less stressed

— Spend more time with family

We all seem to want to improve our health and our finances. Maybe we need to spend more time focusing on what we have, and work to better ourselves through that. I noticed on most of these lists that no one seems to say they will be more diligent in being involved with their church.

Where have we put our priorities if we don’t seem to put some of these things that are important at least in our top 10 list? It seems that most Americans have lost focus about what is really important with their resolutions.

Here is a thought — why don’t we stop focusing so much on making promises we most likely won’t keep on New Year’s Day. Instead, let’s strive to be a better person 365 days a year. Give a compliment — not a complaint. Help someone in our community who needs a warm meal or contribute to a local charity that will help others.

As we watch January slip by, maybe many reading this who have made New Year’s resolutions will have better luck than the majority of Americans. Hopefully they will be in that small majority who can actually make their New Year’s resolution come to fruition.

And if that doesn’t work, then hopefully we will have Jan. 1, 2017, to start all over again with our new list.

Tim Phillips is publisher of the Oxford EAGLE. Contact him at tim.phillips@oxfordeagle.com.