So New Years Day has come and gone. The fireworks exploded in shining sparks all over the world. And many of us said to ourselves, “Right! This year I am going to achieve this goal!” But as the bright glow faded, our resolutions joined in.
“Some people spend their entire lives waiting for the time to be right to make an improvement.”
James Clear, Atomic Habits, 2018
New Years Day is totally irrelevant when it comes to lifestyle changes. The time to start a change, whatever it may be, is always now. You have not failed just because you didn’t do what you wanted to do. You just need a different approach.
“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.”
James Clear, Atomic Habits, 2018
Tiny steps of improvement lead to fantastic results. If you uproot an oak tree with just one spade and keep going you will eventually see it fall. And in the sunlit clearing you have created you can cultivate a bluebell. Which will multiply into a mass of blue. You cannot achieve this by buying a giant bag of bluebell bulbs and planting them underneath the living oak. They will not get enough light to survive and multiply. They will be one hit wonders in the Spring and wither underground in August.
New Years Resolutions tend to set goals. For instance:
New Years Resolutions tend to set goals. For instance:
- I will lose x amount of weight before my next holiday
- I will win a marathon this year
- I will never eat chocolate again
These are all unrealistic goals because, apart from being too big:
- We have not yet made any eating habit changes
- We cannot run more than a few steps
- We have three Mars Bars and a Twix in our bag for lunch
Do not get me wrong. Big dreams are good. But realism must govern the steps we take to achieve them.
Realistic resolutions might be:
Realistic resolutions might be:
- I am going to tweak my diet using a tried and tested method which keeps me in control of the results. The resultant weight loss and feel good factor will give me pride in my new look and ensure I maintain it.
- I will do something I have never done before and which I have always dreamed about. Turning dreams into hopes into realisation will give me reward and motivation resulting in an improved life.
- I will not set myself up for failure by making rules for myself I cannot keep. Instead, I will do the first two. 2024 will be a good one for me.
We are well into 2024 now. If all your New Year Resolutions have either failed or were never made in the first place, why not explore this site? Look at the possibilities. Dust off some dreams. The first tiny step to make is to pick up your spade and dig out a link to an article somewhere here which will lead you to fell that oak tree of bad habits and … who knows…?
New Year, New Dreams, New You!
New Year, New Dreams, New You!
Hilary Higgins (January 2024)
