The Challenge of New Year’s Resolutions

Wrote this piece over at Medium but it’s worth commenting on here.

People look to January 1 as a day to start fresh – it’s the first day of a new year and the slate is clean so to speak.

You may have the best of intentions in wanting to improve yourself, but many people fall down because there’s nothing behind it.

The first time the going gets tough, the resolution gets left behind. Come March and you don’t even remember doing it.

The lasting damage that resolutions can cause is that they can prevent you from returning to this in the future.

Last time I dieted, it was such a disaster, why even bother?

Last time I tried to learn French it fizzled out, so clearly it’s not for me.

There is no timeline other than your own.

There are no rules other than the ones you set yourself.

It’s important to provide the framework that will allow you to succeed and not quit as soon as things get difficult.

This isn’t a coach or mentor who doesn’t know how to push your buttons – surely you know how to get the best out of yourself. Just keep in mind, that anything worthwhile is a struggle. There is pain to the gain. The discipline and mental strength you require to achieve your goal will be tested every day if not many times a day.

It’s hard but the feeling you will have on getting there is indescribable. It will all be worth it and then some!

Dayton Kingery is the founder of busybodies365.com