New Year’s resolutions

Another year has passed, a new one is rapidly approaching. It is waiting right around the corner to make its crushing appearance. New hopes, desires, resolutions, beginnings. Old me, new me. This year it will be different. Alas. Do New Year’s resolutions really work

New Year resolutions have never worked for me despite my sincere efforts to maintain commitment, focus and purpose. I doubt they have worked for any of my friends, either. It is a great feeling getting together and sharing your goals for the new year. The aspirations and sincere promises for change. But it’s subtly and gradually devastating when the new year’s resolutions have faded away only a week after the promises for change.

Why? Why can’t we commit to our “new year-new me” mentality? 

I believe there are two main reasons for our unsuccessful new year’s resolutions.

First of all, there is too much pressure to change and perform, which leads to stagnation. It makes us stale. It numbs us. We become frightened by the weight of this enormous decision-making, which is out of context. We enter ourselves into an unfair competition with millions of other people who have also promised to change at the dawn of the new year. How can one compete with that?

Secondly, we don’t really want to start working towards changing our habits at the beginning of the new year. The excitement and long built-up anticipation for the new year deceive us into thinking that this is the best time for a drastic change. For a new life with less of this and more of that. But this attitude sets the standards too high. So high that even we cannot reach them.

High expectations bring about the opposite of the desired results. They lead to disappointment and fear. 

What is wrong with deciding to improve your lifestyle starting on a Monday morning or Wednesday evening with a long and relaxing bath? Why should you revise your eating habits on the first of January and not on a Saturday morning? Why subscribe to the gym in the new year and not now? Why find yet another excuse to postpone improving your life?

There is no such thing as a wrong moment to begin building up a better life for yourself. There is only and always the right moment to do it. Forcing change into your life has never been a good idea. On the contrary, embracing change in the form of improvement and progress is the way to go. 

You are great as you are. You do not have to change yourself to become better. But you can change elements of your daily habits that inhibit progress in your life and deprive you of becoming a better version of yourself. Happy new year.