It’s that time of year again, December is kicking off here in a few days. Everybody starts focusing on what they’re going to start January 1st. I think many of us have the same practice of setting New Year’s resolutions and labeling them as such, then waiting a month to get started.
I did the same thing a couple of years ago. I was laying out my goals for the year and giving myself proper time to plan my procrastination when I remembered the simple phrase “do it now.” Why do we have the practice of waiting until the New Year to work on the things we should have done a year ago? If we simply started today, we wouldn’t waste a month of progress that we could have used as momentum going into the next year.
According to Google, “only 9% of Americans that make resolutions complete them. In fact, research goes on to show that 23% of people quit their resolution by the end of the first week, and 43% quit by the end of January.”
I often encourage others to do what others will not do and start today. The reason we put things off is the simple fact that we are procrastinators. The reality is that action is the requirement. You don’t need to set up an extravagant plan to get started and even if you are setting up a plan, you are going to make minor adjustments throughout the course to make sure that you will be successful.
There will be multiple challenges along the path, so except some adversity. If you’re somebody that is wanting to lose weight, your favorite foods are going to start to become free. People are going to invite you to all the events with every temptation imaginable. I remember when I started out on the path of a year of abstinence from alcohol; each trip and event I attended had an open bar! The first time it happened it was kind of annoying and by the third time it happened, it was just the norm.
Expect the the path to be littered with obstacles to test your resolve and commitment. Remember that it is OK to stumble as long as you pick yourself up and keep going on. The only time you fail is when you decide to quit. There are times when you may have to limit your interactions with certain people and remove yourself from certain environments temporarily to accomplish your goals.
If you are that person that has that New Year’s resolution, the one that is already burned into your skull, and you can’t stop thinking about it, don’t wait until January 1st to get started. Be different and start today, while everyone else is trying to gain momentum at the start of the year. You will already have a good rhythm that you will be able to maintain if you stay. You can do this!