Many people resolve to do something better in the New Year, then procrastinate and forget until it’s time to make another resolution. Do yourself a favor this year and start before 2016. Don’t resolve to do something later—do it now.
By now you probably know why you procrastinate, but even if you know how to stop it you still have to take that action. It’s easy to wait until the New Year to enact a plan so you can fit in a few more donuts before committing to a diet. It’s easier to leave housecleaning until the weekend or to start writing that novel at a more opportune time. New Year’s Resolutions rarely work because they give you a chance to wait. You get to put something off until 2016, even if it’s just a few days, and that starts an unhealthy pattern.
Think about how many times you’ve said you wanted to do something. Perhaps you decided to diet but figured you’d start on Monday so you could enjoy the foods you love prior to locking down your appetite. Every time you push something off, even a little bit, it makes it easier to take another day and another week until you’ve let go of your ambition entirely.
This happens because you took the wrong approach. Change is not a black and white proposition. Change happens gradually, and you don’t need to cut out everything you love to have a good diet. You don’t have to exercise for an hour five days a week when you’re just getting started. You can resolve to eat one healthy meal a day and work your way up. You can work out for five minutes a day five days a week and increase incrementally each week as you adjust. When you resolve to make a big change, you don’t have to make that big change all at once. You have an entire year, or as long as you want.
Don’t wait another day. Don’t put things off. Start small and start now. You’ll be better off for it, and you won’t fall victim to another failed resolution.
… Read more