It’s officially 2018 and, just like the day after your birthday, nothing feels any different. We haven’t been collectively moved by some sort of cosmic or energetic shift, the world hasn’t changed radically for better or for worse, and 92 percent of us will fail to keep our resolutions over the next 365 days. It may be a new year, but by and large it feels like the same old, same old.
Every year we hype up the last day of the year we are saying goodbye to and look ahead to the year to come, making promises to ourselves that we will never be able to keep as we drink away our worries and party into the early hours of the morning. However, within three to four weeks, we seem to forget the boundless optimism we had coming into the new year and find ourselves right back where we started. What gives?
According to an article by the Huffington Post, setting overly ambitious New Year’s resolutions is just one of the ways that we tend to start the new year off on the wrong foot. We make a huge mistake when we assume that simply setting a lofty resolution will make our new year great. What we tend to forget is that resolutions don’t keep themselves, we’re the ones who have to do all that work day by day in order to stick to our resolutions. This year, set yourself up for success: don’t set a New Year’s resolution.
This year, instead of creating a resolution that will likely result in your own personal disappointment—unless you’re among the tenacious eight percent who really do stick with it—recognize that each day is a chance to start new. Progress doesn’t magically occur, it happens because you put in hard work every day in order to achieve a goal. Any positive changes over the new year are going to start with one day and continue on one day at a time. That being said, don’t set yourself a lofty year-long goal, set yourself a daily goal.
Health and wellness resources like Mindbodygreen offer lists of ways that you can start changing your life, be your best self, and make the world a better place. Take their list “24 Ways To Be Mindful All Day, Every Day” as one example. This list encourages you to remember the importance of taking your time, staying hydrated, and telling people how much you appreciate them. It’s small things like this that, practiced day after day, actually make a difference in impacting your life in a positive way.
This new year, start small. Instead of counting the days, make each day count.