A New Year’s Resolution always feels like grinding to maintain an unbroken streak of doing something you don’t want to do because you know it’s good for you, for as long as you can until you finally break and can’t sustain it anymore. Yea that sounds fun.
The year you’re able to finally keep your New Year’s Resolution is when you decide to get rid of New Year’s Resolutions. We hear it every January “New Year, New You”. And maybe the finality of an old year and the feeling of a fresh start of a new one gives some inspiration, drive and motivation. But how long does that last until it feels like a grind?
But it’s literally just another day. No different than any other. The sun came up, it’ll go back down. January 21st, May 14th, September 2nd, December 31st – you could start to be a “new you”, any day, anytime, anywhere. You don’t have to wait! That in itself should give some inspiration, energy and encouragement.
Maybe think of it as a New Year’s Revolution. Do things with the intention of wanting to embody that state of being. It’s always good to have a purpose and goal but from my experience, it’s felt a lot more fruitful and sustainable to embody the activity – the identity. That is, for example, running because you are a runner. Of course we might want to start running for health or fitness reasons but running because I’m a runner, or sprinting because I’m a sprinter has been so much more sustainable and healthier for my mind than running to “lose weight” or some other extrinsic goal. And ultimately would produce the same results, healthier physical fitness and the other extrinsic results but the state of mind while doing it makes a world of a difference, it becomes less of a grind, less of a struggle to get motivated and overcome the inertia.
It’s a subtle nuance, one we’re not frequently taught. Seems obvious but it has improved my mindset and approach in almost everything I do, and not just my physicality but also my wellbeing. It keeps me present and in flow for whatever I’m doing.