Have you begun to give thought to your New Year’s Resolution? If not, it is time.
According to the Journal of Clinical Psychology at the University of Scranton, these 5 resolutions are the most popular:
- Lose Weight
- Get Organized
- Spend Less, Save More
- Enjoy Life to the Fullest
- Stay Fit and Healthy
If you have any goals such as these in mind to put into action when the clock strikes 12 on January 1st, who’s to say you can’t start right now?
Many people wait until the new year to begin new projects or set new goals because a new calendar year implies starting over with a clean slate. At dinner on New Year’s Eve, friends and families gather all over the world and share their favorite moments from the year before, making a resolution for the next year and pledging to commit to them. Most people look at the new year as a chance at a whole new life, and it is – but why can’t your new life start now? It can, and there are plenty of reasons why starting your new year’s resolutions today is actually more beneficial in the long run.
9 Reasons to Start Your New Year’s Resolution Right Now:
1 – Every Day You Wake Up is a Chance to Start Over
Why wait until a certain date to transform your life? You can set goals and chase dreams every day when you get out of bed; you don’t need a calendar to tell you when you can make resolutions. Most people wait until the new year to make changes in their lives because it gives them an excuse to procrastinate and even give up their goals altogether. Also, when you set a future date to start something, you invalidate the present moment.
Right now is as good a time as any to start something new and exciting, and you are more than capable of transforming your life today!
2 – You Can Accomplish a Lot Between Now and the New Year
In a sense, if you postpone your goals to a later date, you will lose valuable time that you could spend to manifest your dreams. Think of how much you can get done between now and the new year. For example, imagine that you want to adopt a healthier lifestyle that includes more fruits and vegetables and a regular exercise routine. You could start feeling more vibrant and having more energy now instead of waiting until the new year, and you will feel accomplished knowing you beat everyone else to the punch and started your New Year’s resolutions early!
“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” – Benjamin Franklin
3 – Time is Just an Illusion Anyway
Humans invented the idea of time as a way to measure events and order them from past to present. Even though it makes us more aware of deadlines and gives us a way to track important life events, the only real-time is the “Now.” Without getting too technical, the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously, converging and forming a continuous flow of energy. You can create whatever reality you want to see right at this moment, and that will set the stage for every subsequent moment you experience. While the idea of time can be comforting, you don’t need to set goals for a certain date in order to achieve them. You can simply have an action plan and pursue your goals in each moment without the added pressure of time.
4 – The “Right Time” is Any Time
A lot of people spend a large portion of their lives waiting for a sign to tell them it’s the right time to pursue a goal, or wait until they feel ready. But, why can’t right now be the right time? If you wait until tomorrow, you might still think you’re not ready to wake your dreams into reality. Here’s a secret: you are ready if you just believe it. Your mind creates your reality, so make sure your thoughts stay positive!
You can achieve anything you want at any time if you simply have faith in yourself and your abilities. You were born ready. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here on this planet right now. We all have a divine purpose, and we were put on this Earth to execute that purpose in only the way we know how.
5 – You Will Stay More Organized
When we put off goals or errands, we invite chaos and disorganization into our lives. For example, if you have five important projects that you want to finish by a certain date, but you put them off until the last minute, you will have to complete all of them in a shorter timeframe. This puts a lot of unnecessary stress on you as you scramble to get everything is done, which means your workspace will likely reflect your inner state of being. Then, important papers might get lost, you could accidentally delete files off your computer, or you might totally forget about a project altogether.
To prevent this from happening, just start your projects or goals ahead of time. Then, you will have more time to work on your goals and can keep your workspace and your brain more organized.
6 – You Can Eliminate Added Stress
When people make their new year’s resolution, they hold themselves to very high standards to accomplish their goals. Making a resolution has become a trademark of the holiday, and many feel that the New Year is incomplete without making declarations to change their lives in the upcoming year. However, when you announce your goals to your friends or family at a party or dinner, you might feel obligated to follow through with your plans to avoid embarrassment or shame in the future.
Simply put, people hype up their new year’s resolution and often feel very disappointed and stressed when they don’t follow through with them. By starting on them now, you will be more likely to commit to them long-term if they aren’t attached to traditions or expectations from others.
7 – There’s Less Pressure
When the new year rolls around and people start making the resolution to live life to the fullest, lose fifty pounds, get a new job, or travel the world, they put a lot of pressure on themselves. If you just commit to living better each day and don’t use a holiday as a starting point to transform your life and start anew, you can eliminate that added pressure. You can make goal-setting and living the life you want a daily habit rather than a highly overrated holiday activity.
8 – You’re Likely to Set More Realistic Goals
Since a lot of hype surrounds your New Year’s resolution, many people set grandiose goals that they usually never follow through with. Also, a lot of people set too many goals and don’t take into account the time they have to work on them. If you have more time to think about your plans and don’t just blurt out a resolution that sounds impressive, you will likely set more realistic goals for your lifestyle.
9 – There’s a Better Chance You’ll Stick to them Long-term
Since only 23 percent of people who set a New Year’s resolution actually follow through with them, according to a survey by FranklinCovey, you will have a higher chance of sticking to your guns if you set goals on your own terms. When you treat each day as a gift, a chance for a new beginning instead of waiting for that magical first day of the year, you will have more control of your life and realize that you create your future every single day.
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