Why Wait And Let New Years Seal Your Fate?

Story by Paris Dozier. Photo courtesy of mercurynews.com 

DEC. 6, 2019: I’ll read every night! I’ll hit the gym four times a week! I’ll travel to a new country! Well, sorry to break it to you, but unless you’re really strong, that’s probably not gonna happen.  According to studies people give up on their New Year's resolutions by about January 12th. I know, right? One day you’re all inspired, and the next your back to square one, doing the exact same things as the previous year.

However, I don’t necessarily think you should give up on all your resolutions and goals either. Just don’t wait until New Years to implement them into your life! Think about it, changes don't happen overnight, they actually happen habitually. If you wait until January 1st to implement change into your overall life, studies show that it takes up to 66 days to fully have the changes intact with your lifestyle. You have to first come up with the idea of even making your lifestyle better. Then you have to face the challenge of not fading back into your old habits. Then, and only then, will you have successfully made a new change in your lifestyle, by creating a new habit. Does all that sound like it’ll happen overnight?

So don’t wait until the new year! If there is something you want to change about your life, nobody’s holding you back. Who decided that there had to be a set date for you to try and become a better person? 

Paris Dozier is a 5th grade scholar at Friendship Woodridge International School.