Hmm, do I make new years resolutions?  Nope.  Not at all.  Why?  Because I think it’s an excuse to procrastinate.  “Nah, I’m going to be doing that for my new years resolution!”  “Why start now when I can start later?”  “I’m going to wait for a specific day to start, not now!”

I think that when it comes to starting something, it needs to be a right time for you and in your life.  January 1st perhaps could be the right day for some people!  But for starters, it’s the end of the major holiday season.  That in and of itself creates a whole bunch of stressors; who really needs one more?  A person really should be starting something, be it weight loss, quitting smoking/drinking/drugs, or whatever, because it needs to happen and it’s the right time for them.  Not because it’s a random day of the year.

Secondly it adds a lot of pressure.  Everyone else is doing something, so I need to too.  In my opinion it makes it a competition.  And while that works for a lot of people, it can create a competitive air about the resolution for all the wrong reasons.

Lastly there seems to be this vibe around new years resolutions that make it feel like you need to go full bore, all out, start every aspect of whatever you’re doing right now.  Make the whole change at once.  There seems to be a serious lack of goal setting, of doing things one step at a time and at a pace that works for you, your body, your lifestyle and whatever you’re doing.

For me, making a life change is just that; it’s making a life change.  I’m not the type of person who can wake up in the morning, and change my entire life.  I just can’t do it.  Perhaps it’s because I do have a small fear of change, however in order for changes to take effect they need time.  You need to take time to adjust your daily routine to add in whatever your adding, to get used to not having whatever you’re removing and so on and so forth.

At least for me, this is why I don’t pick a random day of the year, regardless of what day it is and just do it.  I have to do it when it feels right.  And, I have to do bits and pieces at a time, make it a slow adjustment so that I can keep the changes in my life and not just give up on it ‘cuz it was too hard.  Doing it all at once would quite simply be too much for me.