I love the excitement & potential of a new year. One chapter ends, another begins. A clean slate.
New year’s resolutions have a bad reputation but they are a good thing. An aunt recently told me about a number of new activities & goals she has intended for the new year. If she makes a start on even half of them then it will be an interesting year for her.
Even just telling me about these plans sparked a number of questions in response from me. And I know that next time we talk I will have a bunch of things I can ask for updates on.
There is a reason why new year’s resolutions often don’t work at the start of January, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. In the midst of the post-Christmas seasons of parties & holidays, summer & merriment, it’s simply the wrong time to attempt goals like regular exercise, daily reading & journalling, learning a new language, dieting or giving up some kind of vice.
The new year is the wrong time of year to start new year’s resolutions.
Fast forward to March when your natural routine has returned and there is still plenty of year ahead. Distractions are less and perhaps life is getting a little too normal.
“The new year is the wrong time of year to start new year’s resolutions.”
March is the perfect time to start your new year’s resolutions.
Not only will starting resolutions in March increase the chance of successfully attempting your goals, it will also add a lot of spice to your life & your conversations.
Imagine being asked in March what you are up to, and you tell someone you have just started writing a novel, you’re now volunteering at a homeless shelter, you are taking tango lessons, and you are attempting a world record for most nectarines eaten in a month.
(And out of interest, if a friend gave you that response then what is the first thing you would want to ask them more about?)
This coming March, start the things you normally try to start in January. And next January, let your only resolution be to make all your other new year’s resolutions in March.
Let’s talk.
New year’s resolutions are more successful when you start them in March.