“New year, new me!” Although the sentiment is there, I believe the idea of a “fresh start” at the beginning of a new year is completely bogus. Believe me, I wasn’t always like this but it wasn’t until multiple failed attempts at New Year resolutions until I realized that I was just using the New Year as an excuse to be lazy. Though the idea sounds tempting, when you come to think of it, many people use the excuse of the “new year” to further push off any change you are willing to make. I’m sure you have heard this phrase before,
“When the new year comes, I’ll start doing…”
The problem with this is that you are making huge goals for yourself at the beginning of the year when in reality you are truly just setting yourself up for failure. You can’t expect yourself to change within months because it is the new year. Change takes time; breaking and forming habits take time. Trying to achieve these goals all at once would just be plain dumb.
Some new year’s goals look like
- Working out
- Eating healthier
- Quitting smoking/drinking
- Self-care
And although these are all admirable goals, you can not expect yourself to “cold-turkey” it and expect promising results. You need to start smaller goals, start working towards these goals in smaller steps. Rather than just “quitting smoking,” you could try reducing your intake every week. Not only would you actively be working towards your goal, but the goal would now feel more attainable. And not only that, these smaller steps can be started at any time and if you fail, then you can start over and try again! The “new year resolution” no longer hangs over your head. There is no pressure. No more failed new year’s resolutions. The thing about a deadline is that there is this pressure and when that goal isn’t achieved, you can’t help but feel disappointed.
Working towards a goal with no deadline, just small steps everyday is what you need to change. You are the captain of your own ship, change starts with you. Stop expecting yourself to become a new person just because the earth orbited the sun again.