The Written Podcast: New Year’s Resolutions

Every year we all set ourselves a list of things we like to achieve by the end of next year. When December 31^st comes along, and January 1^st is fast approaching – that dreaded time where you are absolutely determined to start your new year’s resolutions, but have a strong inkling that by the end of the day, you would have only achieved what you’ve done all previous years before, realised you just couldn’t be bothered and carried on as you were the last year.

It makes sense that new year’s resolutions are difficult to get moving, because it’s usually a drastic life change where you would morph yourself into someone new. New year, new you, as the phrase usually goes. But then you realise it’s harder than you first imagined, changing the way you are, and so carry on being who you were last year.

The problem I believe most people are facing is the sudden change of character. Those people believe, on January 1^st, they will wake up the next day and be someone else. It takes time to morph into a different character. There is that initial mentality of one year ending and a brand new year beginning, so it doesn’t entirely feel like it’s just another day passing – but that’s basically how you must treat January 1^st. It’s no different to December 31^st. The sun rises the same, it’ll set the same, the grass will remain green, the sky will remain blue. Nothing will be different other than our calendars.

To truly change who you want to be, you have to gradually introduce the differences over a few days. You have to let your mind become adjusted to one difference at a time otherwise you’ll unintentionally, unknowingly overwhelm your mind and it’ll force you to automatically decline the changes and you’ll end up giving up before the day is out. However, I do understand those who are extremely determined to change the way they are for whatever reason do so suddenly, when they wake up in the morning. Sometimes, determination is all it takes, forcing your mind to accept all the changes by powering on through, never giving up on what you know will be beneficial in the long run – but even then it may take a couple of weeks, maybe even longer before those changes are fully implemented.

The first challenge of being your new-self is your old-self wanting to come back. You’ve been your old-self for however long, so it’s strong. Suddenly pushing your old-self to one side and believing your new-self will keep the old-self at bay is an impossibility. Your new-self has to grow strong – stronger than your old-self to truly stay your new, true-self. If you allow your old-self to take back control, it absolutely will, and it won’t be budging until you get the determination to push it away.

Throughout the year, as you’re gradually adapting to your new-self, your old-self will continue to fight and make itself known. There will always be traces of your old-self here and there, whether it be certain actions you took in favour of the ones you should have taken, or certain things you said instead. They’re merely challenges, and the more you realise what you’ve done and how best to conquer the mentality that’s attacking your new-self, the weaker your old-self will become. That’s a fact.

I do apologise if this suddenly turned into a self-help article, I certainly wasn’t expecting this to be one, but instead an observation on how so many people around me say they are going to do this or that and just don’t – and then come up with a reason why they’ve given up on their plans, whether it be legitimate or a blatant excuse; most of the time it’s the latter.

The reason why this article morphed into being a self-help guide to new year’s resolutions is because I was talking about my own experiences with changing myself. Without going into the unnecessary details – I’ve been going through a rough time for three years, and have battled against that mentality, trying to find different ways to beat it and become who I know I can be.

It was only a month ago when an unexpected event happened – and it was as if the mental bock clouding my mind’s eye lifted in seconds. It was the closest to having a real epiphany, and the next day I started my journey to becoming who I’ve wanted to be for three long years. However, I fought hard to keep that mental block from crashing down again, and there have been a few challenges along the way. I’ve gradually been adjusting to who I am now for a whole month, but I know there’s still a way to go. The mental block above me is heavy, and building the solid foundation to keep it from crashing down isn’t fully finished, but I am confident it’s not coming down until I force it to. It has taken a full month after the initial determination set in to change myself. My mental block may have been lifted overnight, I still had a lot of work to do. I couldn’t say everything’s fine from the very next morning, I knew it’d take time.

That’s why a lot of people fail their new year’s resolutions, because they don’t realise it takes time to change. It doesn’t happen overnight, despite strongly believing it will. Belief is only the first step; actions is the second.

I wish all those who are determined to keep their new year’s resolutions on track and complete them, good luck. When this article comes out on the 4^th January, how many of you have already given up on theirs – I hope you can restart your determination and complete your resolutions. Just because you couldn’t do it by the end of the day on January 1^st, doesn’t mean you have to wait an entire year before restarting again. Start now and be the person you want to be.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)