I'll be honest, I've never been one to set any big New Year's resolutions because frankly, I just think they're dumb. I get it, you think, "New year, new me," and it's a great time for a fresh start. Why can't Oct. 3 or March 25 be great times for a fresh start, though? If you ask me, big New Year's resolutions are an excuse to push off what you should have started right when you thought of it.
Think about it. All through December, you hear about New Year's resolutions, and some people even suggest to you what your resolutions should be! Sure, everyone wants to get in shape, get their life together, work towards a new job, etc, but there's no reason you can't start that immediately. It's really just a big excuse for people to make it look like they're going to make an effort toward the things they've been putting off the past few years. You don't need a new year to accomplish those things: You need a new mindset.
Really though, deciding one day, Jan. 1, that you're going to change your life isn't very logical. Changing your life takes time, and people who work to change theirs don't decide to do it just because people around them are also deciding to do it: They do it for themselves because they need to, at any time of the year. Most New Year's resolutions fail half the time anyway, and when they do, you end up feeling like a loser, because you couldn't keep up with your resolution. I mean, if everyone who said, "I'm going to lose 35 pounds this year!" really stuck to their plan, we might not be such an obese nation.
In addition, many people expect way too much from their resolutions. Things take time, and a lot of it. You often don't see any results until the year is almost already over, and many people give up long before then. Momentum can die fast, especially on things that take a long time. Changing your life completely takes a long time, so setting a resolution to change it just because it's a new year is a poor reason. You need legitimate reasons, and legitimate motivation to really make the big changes in life.
So maybe instead of setting some huge resolution, set smaller ones. Work on those throughout the year, but deal with your big life changes when they come up. You're not going to change your life in one day, so don't set a goal to do in just one day. Failing at it will just hurt even worse. Build up to things, and start them at right times, and don't push them off untl another year.
Don't just follow the crowd: Go to the gym every day, as soon as you decide you want your body to look different. Don't be like everyone else, and crowd the gym on Jan. 1. You're probably hungover from a New Year's Eve party anyway, and you're not going to accomplish much at the gym that way. Start saving money as soon as you realize how important it is for your future. Live in the now, not in the new year.
