Today is Ditch Your New Year’s Resolutions Day.
I don’t make New Year’s resolutions personally. But a lot of folks do. While well intended, most resolutions are far too lofty to ever be successful.
If you haven’t worked out in 3 years but resolve to start going to the gym every day there’s almost a 100% chance you will fail. Same thing if everyone in Starbucks knows you by name but you resolve to stop coffee cold turkey. Same thing if you haven’t finished a book since high school but resolve to read one a week.
I’m not suggesting that self-improvement is a bad thing. I have a small bookstore’s worth of self-improvement books in my own home and I’ve read most of them. But putting up a new calendar doesn’t mean you are going to become an entirely new person. Any goal you set, regardless of what day of the year you set it, needs to be realistic. Setting impossible goals only sets yourself up for failure and disappointment.
If you want to get into better physical shape set up a calendar/ schedule of going to the gym, say two times a week for a month. Then if that goes well bump it up to three days a week after that. If you want change an unhealthy eating habit allow for “cheat days” and figure out in advance what you will do to stave off cravings and/ or avoiding triggers for eating whatever you want to no longer consume.
Love yourself. Cut yourself some slack. And ditch those hangover made resolutions once and for all!