It is the beginning of a new year. A time of new firsts, new experiences, new opportunities change who you are. Wherever I turn, I read the words, “New year, new you!” It's finally time to start that extensive workout plan that you will most likely not follow through with. The new year has gone from celebrating the lives we lived in the past year to initiating new workout plans or other self-improvement goals. There are consistent trends from year to year that stem from this notion; we all ate too much Christmas turkey and cookies and now need to drop 20 pounds. Is there really an issue with how we look or are, or is it the outside world saying people need to start a resolution to lose weight and change who we are? For those who realistically want to set goals, the reality is that we are too impatient to follow through with the majority of goals we make since we do not see immediate results.

We are living in a world where we expect everything to come in an unrealistic timely manner. We get impatient if our food is 5 minutes past expectancy; if the Wi-Fi is slow or not connecting; someone doesn’t text us back; ultimately any allotted period of time that we feel we are ‘waiting’ too long when we should be receiving results. Let’s face it, our world has grown exponentially, and our society is constantly on the go. If we come to any realization that something is a waste of time due to our misconception of how long we are to wait for that result, we will drop it or find reasons around doing said task or thing. This, in correlation with where our motives lie, will determine how long someone will stick to their new year’s goals.

We definitely do need to set goals, however, we need to think about each goal and contemplate the dedication and discipline it will take to accomplish each goal. If a goal was sprung up January 1^st at 12:01a.m., the likelihood of that goal being accomplished is slim to none. We cannot expect any results from a goal that we put no heart into. As easy as the idea to begin a ‘new you’ commences in our minds, it can be even easier to dissipate. People set unrealistic expectations and goals to reach in a short period of time, and when they don’t see any results they raise the white flag. If someone truly wanted to lose weight, be more active, be more social, be kind, read more, or any other goal for that matter, all it takes is the dedication and desire to achieve and be better than the day before.

We are looking at this goal setting and resolutions the wrong way. It is not an overnight transformation -- good and worthy goals take time. Not only do these goals take time, but ultimately it is not about changing who we are. We should not want to change our uniqueness or become a new person. A new workout plan should not change who someone is; being more social may change life satisfaction, but essentially does not change specific characteristics about someone. Just because we decided to make better decisions and actions does not mean we have change who we are. Goals can be set and aimed for at any point in the year. The day of the year should not hinder us from setting new goals through out the year. The truth is, the majority of the goals set will not even be kept, due to our impatient mindset, unrealistic goals, and lack of motivation. If we truly want to make a change in our lives it should begin with learning how to keep dedicated and motivated throughout our day to day lives before we begin thinking about year long goals.