Forget New Year's Resolutions.

Why torture yourself? There are better ways to create change!

Saw this recently, and thought it was hilarious, in a very relatable way. But here’s the thing: I’ve never understood why New Year’s Resolutions persist as a form of self torture.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all in favour of creating change in the context of personal growth. What I’m not in favour of is doing it in a way that’s going to leave you feeling worse about yourself. This is pointless and counterproductive.

So, why do we insist on allowing the turning over of a page of arbitrarily decided numbers that count our days and years to determine when we should start to make change? Especially (in the Northern Hemisphere at least) when we're still dealing with conditions that are less than optimal, and many of us would like to hibernate, rather than hit the gym!

But 'New Year, New Me', has some level of pull over people, and they feel that they too must turn over a new leaf. I mean, there's a lot to unpack right there - and not just a hint of some less than optimal thinking, if I'm honest.

Here’s the thing. We can adapt and change. You have neuroplasticity to make it possible. Will power is rarely enough to get it done though, and you need to know how to support your brain, which is generally less than keen on wasting energy on changes that it doesn’t consider essential.

There are ways to support change. It’s something I talk about a lot, so hit follow if you’re interested in this topic!

Categories: : applied neuroscience, brain science, resilience, self-awareness, creating change