This may not be the time of year to talk about New Year’s resolutions, but a new study from Cornell University may help explain why some of us gave up on those resolutions months ago. The study, in the journal Psychological Science, tracked two thousand American adults for a full year after setting New Year’s resolutions. Then, repeated the study in China to see if a different culture came up with the same result. It did. Researchers found that doing something because you like it predicts long-term success much better than doing something because you seek the end reward. In other words, people who found their goals enjoyable and motivating were much more likely to stick with those resolutions throughout the year.