So much for "new year, new me," right?

I mean, I know what you're telling yourself: that everyone makes mistakes, they do, but it takes a special kind of person to not be able to make it to the end of January. That, like some loser, you couldn't even make it through an entire month without breaking that resolution you absolutely swore you'd stick to. And that you spent so much time planning and talking about it, and you just... you blew it. Just like that.

Listen, I know that's exactly what you're thinking, and I know you feel like a complete failure right now, but it's OK, I promise. We place so much emphasis on "new beginnings" when it comes to the New Year that we pressure ourselves to make immediate (and long lasting) changes that will contribute to our self-betterment. And if we haven't done it to perfection by the end of January, well, we're never going to, are we? Might as well give up now.

Except that you really shouldn't.

Honestly, we need to put an end to that kind of pressure; it neither motivates nor gratifies us. All it does for anybody is make them feel horrible about themselves when they inevitably face an obstacle or setback –– especially when it's of their own doing.

Here's the thing: you forgot to do 100 crunches before you went to bed one night. And then you didn't have time the next. And then the next night you just didn't feel like it. And then, before you knew it, you'd gone an entire week without doing your crunches –– a week that turned into two, and now it feels too late to get back into the game. But it's not, I swear it's not. There are 365 days a year (366 this year!), and your ability (or inability) to stay on track during the month of January does not determine your ability to create good habits –– whatever they may be. If you weren't able to give up your vices as easily as you'd hoped, there's nothing to worry about; you have the whole year to get it right. In fact, you have your whole life.

The truth is that you don't need a new year to set goals, and there isn't a deadline that you have to complete them all by; there really is no right way to start over. You can fall on your face as many times as you like before you get back up again, you can have cheat days, and you can have major setbacks. You can have all of that and still achieve great things in life. Just go at your own pace; take as much time as you need.

You got this.