It's officially 2018, and I bet you've already come up with a New Year's Resolution. You probably swore to yourself you're going to lose 15 pounds. Or maybe you vowed to spend less and save more. Let me guess, you're FINALLY going to get organized?

*Cue eye roll*

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with having hope. There's nothing wrong with setting goals for yourself. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with being ambitious. But why wait until January 1st every single year to make empty promises to yourselves only to postpone them for the next new year? Okay, I'm sure not everyone does this. But most people do. It's uncanny how many people start diets in the new year only to abandon them completely within a few weeks.

January 1st is just another day. You aren't going to magically gain the motivation you've been searching for because a giant ball in Times Square drops. That motivation has to come from within, not from the clock striking 12. It's amazing how many believe New Year's Day is anything but a Monday morning.

I know what you're thinking: "But it's about what it REPRESENTS". Yeah, yeah, I get it. New year, new beginnings, fresh starts, etc.

And that's, theoretically, real cute.

But it's not realistic.

And it's not healthy to fill your head with lies about what you plan to alter about your life when you know it won't hold up.

Maybe there's power in owning that we are who we are and we can't quite become someone else because it's a new year. We can only work to improve and enhance ourselves over time and at our own pace.

The problem with annual resolutions is that they construct the illusion that if you fail, you simply push it back to the next year's resolution. And then it's an endless cycle, and you never get around to completing the objective.

I'm not saying don't have a resolution. I'm saying stop relying on the new year to create and execute them. Start bettering yourself on May 3rd, on September 16th, on November 25th. Start on a random Tuesday night. Start during a rainy Summer day. Start whenever you feel compelled to. Start when you are entirely ready and prepared. But know drastic change does not happen overnight. Not even on the night of December 31st. Even though it's a new year, it's the same you.