It’s getting to be that time of year…

When we rejoice in people putting off til tomorrow (for some reason)

Seriously. Why? People plan, in advance, to make improvements to their life… at a later date. Namely January 1. Why do we continue to encourage this? What’s wrong with RIGHT NOW?

I don’t make new years resolutions. I can’t remember the last year I did make any. But unlike Calvin, it’s not because I’m perfect. Pretty far from it. But I don’t need an arbitrary day to make changes.

Obviously I’m all for improving ones self. It’s essentially the entirety of my career. And every day I check in with myself and ask “What did I do today to improve myself as a person”? I know my life isn’t where I want it to be. So I have to do something about it, daily. NOW.

Besides, you  do know that almost all new years resolutions fail, right?

Not just your own, which you are acutely aware of. But in general, in the US, people make resolutions and by mid February, kaput. At what levels? Well, one article I read stated that only 8% of all people actually achieve their new years resolutions. Another said it was 12%. Either way, that’s not a good success rate. In anything else in your life, if you knew you only had a 12% chance of success, would you continuously do it anyway? (I’m not talking about you, lottery players. You’re a lost cause!)

Why choose to make changes on some arbitrary day anyway?

January 1    February 8    March 24    April 14    October 2

What are these dates? These are the five different dates “new years” will be observed in 5 different cultures. (Gregorian calendar, Chinese New Year, Navreh (Kashmir), Vishu (Kerala, India), Rosh Hashanah). All valid, all “new years”. So why are you so stuck on January first?

Why is January first the new year anyway? That comes from Julius Caesar in 46 BCE and cemented into Western culture by Pope Gregory VIII in 1582. Before Caesar, new years was based on a lunar calendar (our is solar) and in the original culture that celebrated “new years”, the Babylonians, it has the cool name Akitu. Akitu was based on the spring equinox so fell in March/April.

The point is, there is no reason to restrict your personal growth to an absolutely arbitrary day, especially one that was chosen by a guy who got stabbed to death in public for being an officially declared dictator!

 

Don’t talk a big game, get out there and do it.

Aside from the randomness of your chosen day for “new years” why would you delay improving yourself? If you make new years resolutions, you’ve had these goals in mind for some time. Why put off til tomorrow what you know you should have started last month?

Unless you’re Calvin, you know there’s work to be done. The sooner you get to it, the sooner you’ll see results. Your body composition isn’t going to change for the better the weeks you wait until “new years”, nor will your golf game improve.

I’ve got a resolution for you: Resolve not to wait!

There’s things to be done, there’s life to be lived, NOW. Be self motivated and don’t limit your life by a calendar. However you want to improve yourself: getting fit, losing body fat, learning Cantonese, volunteering… all these things can be done NOW. Think carefully on your list of new years resolutions. Are any of them time specific?

Then why are you??