January. The month of self-reflection. We start off the first month of the New Year with a bang. Buying planners, creating healthy food plans, a weekly workout schedule. But this surge of motivation that you suddenly feel on January 1st usually isn’t something that can be maintained throughout the rest of the year. Even though most of us already know the likelihood of a New Year’s resolution lasting are slim to none, why is it that we feel the need to create them anyway? Why do we believe that every time January rolls around again, this year will be different from the last?

Maybe it is because we are hopeful that eventually, the day will come when we will finally be able to commit to our resolutions, putting an end to the previous cycle of failure. It is never easy to admit failure and by constantly creating new resolutions each year, in a way, I guess you never have to accept defeat.

For those of you who have the discipline to keep yourself accountable to the resolutions you make and manage to stick with them, I commend you. But I am not that kind of person. I lose the motivation that once fueled my resolutions. Even though I know that my resolutions will ultimately only better myself, I still cannot find the willpower to continue and keep them.

To me, New Year’s resolutions are intended to have a short lifespan. The rush of motivation that you think is coming from within yourself, is actually a result of the general buzz of motivation from those around you. After all, we tend to feed off of other’s emotions and feelings.

Rather than making New Year’s resolutions, I like to think of my life goals as lifestyle changes. Some may say that a lifestyle change and resolution are essentially the same thing. But the way I look at it, something that is considered to be a lifestyle change is bigger than a resolution. You are altering the way you conduct yourself, trying to create better habits and break bad, old ones. A lifestyle change implies permanence, something that may be daunting at first, but will become a regular part of your daily life sooner or later.

Ultimately, do whatever works for you. Every individual is unique and different methods work for different people. We are just trying to improve ourselves and taking that first step is all that matters.