Don’t Wait Until The New Year To Change Your Life
In fact, don’t even wait another day!
How many of you spend a bit of time at the end of December reflecting on the past year and promising to yourself that the next one is going to be different? That’s me, for sure — and I know that most of us do it.
It is a sacred ritual to promise yourself that you will start running in the morning, become more sociable, write that book that you’ve been thinking about for a couple of years already, visit family more often, take French language classes, launch a side hustle, etc. — and then fail. Miserably.
Ever noticed how gyms fill up in January and get back to almost empty by mid-February? 80% of people are out of the game by then, and 25% don’t even last a week!
While our inability to commit to a consistent habit is one reason why New Year resolutions fail, the date itself doesn’t really help to mitigate that factor.
Why the 1st of January?
It’s natural to pick days that signify a new start so that it feels emotionally easier for you to begin. The downside to that approach is that if you fail before you’ve created a habit (running, writing, calling your mum — anything), you are more likely will wait until the next “significant” day comes to start over.
It’s not that bad when you are doing it with Mondays. You’ll get about 50 chances to try every year, which is pretty good.
If you prefer to stick to the calendar and start your endeavours every first day of the month, though, your chances decrease a lot — you only get 12 tries.
And, worse still, when you decide to start something new on the 1st of January, you’re putting extra pressure on yourself. Everyone will rush into committing to their New Year resolutions and social pressure will increase. This trend only creates more stress around the whole thing, which isn’t very helpful when it comes to enabling us to stick to our new habits.
There’s nothing different or special about the 1st of January besides the pretty sign that marks a new round of the calendar countdown, either. I’ve never heard anyone raving about starting to go to the gym on the 26th of February.
The New Year has become the symbol of new beginnings and a promise of change for the better. And yes, it does add a degree of glamour to the whole process of starting a new habit, but it doesn’t make any other day of the year less suitable when it comes to making positive changes in our lives.
Start Today
When you decide to start today, you give yourself a gift of 365 tries (+1 bonus day in 2020). If it doesn’t work out today — you can easily get back to it tomorrow, no need to wait several days or weeks for the new starting point.
“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” — Brad Paisley
New Year’s resolutions often feel like big commitments. You’re either all in or out, which makes it much more disappointing when things don’t work out. But making a small step today gives you a chance to slowly adapt to new routines and habits, increasing your chances of achieving your goals.
No matter what you want to change in your life — it will take time for these changes to start showing. And because impatience is part of human nature, starting today will help you see the progress sooner and continue your pursuit instead of dropping it.
The Takeaway
Every day you have an opportunity to do something to point your life in the direction that you want to go. Making a start today gives you more chances to succeed than postponing action until the 1st of January. “A brand new start” may sound encouraging, but it doesn’t really affect the likelihood that you’ll make good on your promises.
Start small, but start today, and you will already be one step ahead of those who are waiting for the perfect moment to make that first step. Because it’s intentional action that creates results, not the date when you’ve decided to change.
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