Jonathan Edwards, the 18th-century revivalist, sat down at age 17 and penned 21 resolutions by which he would live his life. He added to this list until, by his death, he had 70 resolutions.

He put at the top of his list: "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions.…Remember to read over these resolutions once a week."

Edwards didn't casually make New Year's resolutions with an expectation of eventually breaking them. Each week he did a self-check. He regularly summed up how he was doing and sought God's help in the process.