Each year so many of us fall into the pattern of making a new year resolution to live a healthier life or self-improvement. And while some of us will stick to it, many of us will not. However, that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you or setting a new year resolution, to begin with. But have you ever thought to yourself to make that resolution a month later rather than January 1st?
Why January resolutions doesn’t work for many
For some reason, when January 1st comes around, we all feel this obligation to set goals for ourselves for the new year. After coming from the year before, we want the next year to be better. Many of our resolutions are usually centered around self-improvement, which gives us a burst of energy to be motivated to improve ourselves.
This means that goals of living healthier or taking self-journeys are the first things that come to mind. However, these goals don’t seem to be feasible to complete for many. That’s not to say that some don’t achieve self-improvement in the new year based on the resolution they’ve set.
But if you look at how they accomplish this, you’ll understand why so many give up after a few days. And you begin to tell yourself, “I’ll do it tomorrow or next month.” What if I told you that starting your resolution in January doesn’t work for someone looking for self-improvement. And here’s why?
Sticking to resolutions is hard and we
all know there’s a lot of talk and pressure in January about getting fitter and being healthier,” Gareth Mills from Strava told The Independent.
Because January is the year’s first month, we make snap decisions. We apply this pressure on ourselves to start this new journey first, not knowing that we’re setting ourselves up for failure right away.
For someone looking to start a self-journey, we’ve already been conditioned from the years before to take each day the way we’re so used to doing. So, a sudden change such as starting a resolution on the first day, nine times out of ten, won’t give you the result you were hoping for.
As we know, your mindset doesn’t just snap into place because you set this big goal for yourself. Like everything else, it needs to be planned out to be effective.
Why starting in February could be better for a New Year Resolution
In 2007, a study was done to monitor 3,000 people for the year, and 88% failed to keep their resolution. This is despite having 52% of those people believing that they would when they first set them.
Although it may be a New Year resolution, there’s no rule in the books that says it has to start on the first of the year. You may put your goal out there to the universe on that day but starting without fully understanding what it takes to complete could be disastrous.
One of the significant parts of seeing the success you want is having the right mindset. When you’re used to being in a self-doubting, self-loathing state of mind, you’re not prepared with the mindset it may take to start your new self-journey.
With January 1st comes the pressure and obligation to start right away. But what if you’re not ready to start your resolution on that day. Remember that this is about improving yourself, which means it should be a marathon and not a sprint.
Instead of starting on that date, use the month to plan out what you want to improve within yourself. Take the time to plan out what you want to accomplish. Research routines, habits, and more that you could use to design a doable resolution for yourself personally.
By starting in February, you take that added pressure off, you become more prepared to get started, and if you’re ready, you can start earlier than expected. This is why pushing it back to February may be the better start for you. Giving yourself the time you need to get into the right mindset is the first step to starting your journey.
How to thoughtfully plan for your New Year Resolution
Now, this article is not to debate whether or not resolutions work. Believe it or not, they do. But if you don’t prepare yourself for the proper resolution, it can be challenging to keep.
Don’t make your self-journey resolution vague
Setting a vague resolution doesn’t give you the actual result that you’re hoping to achieve. So, when it comes to self-improvement, just saying that you want to live healthier or better may be too vague of a goal to accomplish.
You want to narrow that down to as specific of a resolution as possible. Something like “This year, I want to exercise 5 days a week” or “I want to focus on giving myself X amount days out of the month to practice self-care.
Setting specific targets to achieve sets you up for completing them rather than pushing them aside for a rainy day.
Make your resolution about you, not others
If you’re talking about self-improvement as your resolution, it should strictly focus on you. Whether it’s self-care, self-love, or physical health, these are journeys that don’t have quick fixes. And they need your undivided attention.
So rather than having multiple resolutions, including others, focus on the main one, which would be your self-improvement goal. Focusing on this goal will help you stay on course towards completing it. You can always set the other resolutions as small goals to achieve throughout the year.
Understand that you may take breaks or fall off the wagon
When you take a break or fall off the wagon, sometimes you may feel like you’ve failed. And if you’re focusing on yourself, this can turn into a setback. Once you’ve begun your resolution, it’s good to get in the mindset of understanding there will be setbacks.
It takes a while to build up a routine that starts to stick, and while we can’t prepare for when this will happen, we can prepare ourselves for jumping back on track. Looking back on what you initially planned can be used to get you back in the mindset of continuing.
Assistance from others can go a long way
Although it’s your resolution, that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. Finding assistance, whether it’s an online class, taking to your doctor or therapist, or even having a trusted friend to guide you, can make holding yourself accountable less stressful.
Here are some other tools to consider along the way:
- Vision board
- Self-care planner
- Journal
- White board/cork board
- Support group/team
- Online self-journey courses
- Self-improvement apps
Conclusion
Sometimes it is best to wait, and to set the proper resolution for yourself doesn’t have to begin on January 1st, especially when it comes to a self-journey. By taking the time you need to prepare yourself for accomplishing your year-long goal, you set yourself up for success and that improved self that you set out to be at the beginning of the year.
Until next time, this is Tammy saying keep strong, keep positive. And NOTHING’s Impossible!!!
Starting in February makes sense when you describe why.
Great idea! It had never dawned on me to start in February, but that makes total sense! Right after the holidays is a hard time to focus on something new.
Thank you so much for reading my post, Heidi :). I hadn’t thought about it myself until I decided to take my own self-journey this year and saw that I wasn’t ready after the holidays I just had.