Now is the time to start your resolutions, not January 1st!

The end of the year is always a time for reflection about the months gone by. We look back on what’s happened over the last 52 weeks, we tune into all the “best of” shows and we wonder how the days came and went so fast.

December is also a month when we begin to think about the year ahead, and set new goals to replace ones that might have fallen by the wayside over the last while. We’ll definitely lose that stubborn extra stone this year, or finally get back to the gym, and we definitely WON’T be smoking/eating takeaways/getting stupidly drunk in 2015. Definitely not.

January is a great opportunity for a fresh start. As the year draws to a close it’s easy to slack off on our diet or fitness regime, or stop giving 100% at work. We say we’ll do better next year. No need to worry just yet.

But when you think about it, January is just another date on a calendar. If we really do want to make 2015 the year of self-improvement, why wait nearly three weeks to start? If our aim is to really get on top of things and start holding ourselves accountable, then why not start doing that right now?

Not only will we be giving ourselves a fighting chance at actually achieving our goals, but we’ll have a wealth of preparation behind us. So if you’re considering getting back into the gym, research prices now and check out the facilities in your area. If you’re planning a new healthy eating regime, try to exercise more restraint than usual over the next few weeks, so January’s crazy diet plan isn’t a total shock to your system.  

If you already know what you want to achieve, let tomorrow be your new start and not some arbitrary date next month. You don’t have to go into full-on dedication mode, but allow yourself to get used to the idea of a new you. It will make things so much easier in January, believe me.

Yes, a start date that just so happens to be the first day of a new year certainly has a good ring to it. But why put that pressure on yourself? If you could enter the New Year having actually made a start, no matter how small, on your 2015 goals, you’d feel so much more at ease about what lies ahead.

So let’s stop calling them New Year’s resolutions. They’re simply our resolutions, our goals and our hopes. And they can be achieved at any time, not just when the clock strikes midnight on January 1st.