Even the richest and most successful people in the world can improve. In fact, their relentless pursuit of personal progress is probably what makes them stand out. Mark Zuckerberg is no exception and is famous for picking unorthodox New Year's resolutions.

Earlier this week, he made a public call for ideas to help him pick his 2015 resolution. He also listed his past five resolutions in the post. Except for "wear a tie every day," every resolution has a common theme: to expand his experiences and learn something new. Additionally, everything is measurable.

Noticeably absent from his resolutions are "lose weight" and "exercise." Here they are:

  • Learning to speak Mandarin
  • Meeting one new person every day who doesn't work at Facebook
  • Writing a thank-you note each day to someone who made the world better
  • Being a vegetarian (or only eating meat if I killed the animal myself)
  • Wearing a tie every day
Diets are great, but the most meaningful thing we can do for ourselves is expand our perspective and gain a greater appreciation for those in our lives. Many resolutions, especially those related to getting a sexier body, fail. Research on the percentage of people who keep their resolutions paints a pretty dismal picture. About 71% people make some resolution, and less than 50% of those people have kept it after a month.

Maybe this is because New Year's resolutions are a painful sacrifice if they're only done to please others.