Let’s Start an Anti-Resolution-Revolution
By: Edie Tuck
Tags: Plans, Resolutions, Productivity, Dreams, New Year Resolution

How many of us spend the last quarter of every year justifying every bad decision by promising to ‘be good’ once the new year comes? I’ve been guilty of it too many times to count — in fact, I’m being guilty of it right now!

We make promises to ourselves, and sometimes even go as far as telling other people because we read somewhere that telling another person makes you more prone to sticking to it. We plaster our #NYR all over social media, with these grandiose aspirations and motivational quotes. We’re fired up, man! Raring to go — bring on the new year!!

And then January comes and we’re all in, for about a week. And then all that conviction, all that drive we had in the middle of December somehow fades away. The novelty wears off real fast, and before we know it, we’re back to doing exactly what we were doing a few months before. …oh well, there’s always next January!

“New Year — New You!”

I hate that saying. We don’t need to reinvent ourselves just because the calendar page flipped. We’re constantly growing and evolving as human beings, and one specific date shouldn’t have any bearing on our journey of personal growth.

You may want to lose fifty pounds this year, or gain ten thousand dollars in your savings account, or maybe you’re finally going to figure out what you want to do with your life. Those are all wonderful things, and if they’re your goals then by all means, work your ass off to achieve them! Just don’t do it because the calendar dictates it.

Every single day that you wake up on this side of the dirt is another opportunity for you to chase your dreams with everything you have, and to work on becoming the absolute best version of yourself. Don’t take these sunrises and opportunities for granted, because you never know how many of them you have left! Instead of ‘new year, new you’, how about ‘new day, new chance’?

Show Yourself Integrity

A while back, I was obsessed with watching “Extreme Weight Loss” with Chris and Heidi Powell (I mean…have you seen the guy??) Seeing the way people’s lives were transformed with hard work, tenacity, and consistency just blew my mind, and I admit it, I cried like a baby at every episode.

What really stuck with me through all of it, however, is something Heidi said about integrity. And I’m paraphrasing here, but it’s something along these lines: We have no problem making promises to other people, and keeping them. But when it comes to ourselves, we don’t think twice about breaking those promises. In order to change, we need to shift that mindset and start showing ourselves the same integrity we would a friend, by keeping the promises we make to ourselves.

Start showing up for yourself!

You show up for other people all the time, but what about you? You show up for your boss, putting in your nine to five, and often much more. You show up for your partner and your family. You show up for your friends…you even show up for your pets, but not for yourself.

We’re Hopelessly Attracted to Structure

Even those of us who claim to hate routine (guilty!) are somehow still drawn in like a magnet when it comes to structuring our lives. Don’t believe me? When’s the last time you started a new diet or exercise plan? I’d be willing to bet money it was on a Monday. How about a new savings regime…it was on a Friday, right? (Don’t lie, Santa’s watching!)

There’s actually nothing wrong with structure, just as long as we don’t use it as an excuse for procrastination.

If you’re looking to integrate a new habit into your life, whether it be related to health, finance, personal growth, business, relationships, or anything else… my advice is: just start! Don’t wait for Monday, or Friday, or your birthday, or New Year’s Day. If you need a focused starting-point, you’ve got a brand new sunrise coming up tomorrow! And if you want to be a rebel and say ‘screw structure’…there’s always right now! (Well…once you’re done reading this because I’d really love for you to stick around until the end…please.)

Make the Plans — Ditch the Resolutions

If you’re looking at the last eleven months, and the next twelve, and find yourself wondering if you’re ever going to stop planning and start doing, now is the time. Right now. …if you’re like me and looking for a ‘special time’, there’s one just around the corner. The December full moon is actually coming on the 12th, at 12:12 AM Eastern Standard time. Yep. That’s 12/12 12:12. Get ready!

In all seriousness, you’ve been dreaming your whole life. Now’s the time to start planning and then put those plans in action.

“There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.”

– Douglas H. Everett

I love that quote by Douglas Everett because it makes me think. All of my life, I’ve been living in a dream world. I’ve never been one to want to face reality — I mean, I do, of course, it’s called adulting, but I don’t like to. I prefer to stay in my cozy little dream world where everything is just as I like it. …but what if…

What if I can become one of those people who turn one into the other? …what if you can be, too?

So, I propose a revolution. An Anti-Resolution-Revolution!

Make every day a reason to chase your dreams, and turn them into your new reality. Who’s with me!??