Here we go again… New Year New Me!

How many times have you said those words to yourself over the past few years? Every year, without fail, you convince yourself that this is the year that you are going to make a change. This is the year you are going to lose weight, be more productive, and become a better person. But as the months go on and then eventually turn into years, you start to realize that you haven’t changed at all. You are still the same person, doing the same things and living the same mediocre life.<br><br>I have been there, more than once, and sometimes the feeling of wanting to change is so intense that it is almost painful. The self-hatred that comes along with not being satisfied with your own life is unbearable at times. What is the problem? What is holding us back from becoming the best version of ourselves? Is it really that hard?<br><br>I have come to realize that the way we approach the concept of change might actually be the real problem. After years of miserable failures, I finally found what works for me. I never called it a New Year’s Resolution. I didn’t tell anyone that I was going to change. I didn’t even tell myself that I was going to change overnight. I just took things one day at a time.<br><br>Rather than making drastic New Year’s Resolutions that you know you are not going to keep, why not try setting smaller daily goals for yourself? Want to lose weight? Don’t start off by giving up your favorite foods and buying expensive gym memberships. Just get off the couch and walk around the block. Do it every day for a week. Some days you will feel like not doing it, but you will be so glad that you did. Then you can start running. Then you can work out at the gym. Then you can start eating healthier. It starts off with small victories but ends up in an epic win.<br><br>Want to be more productive? Don’t start by giving your phone to a friend for a month and locking yourself inside your house. Just wake up 15 minutes earlier every day and do something with that time. Eventually you will learn how to manage your time better and get more things done in the long run. Want to become a better person? Don’t start by trying to save the world. Just be nice to everyone you meet. Open the door for people, smile at strangers, and say please and thank you.<br><br>The thing we don’t realize is that the person we want to become is already there. They just need to be awakened. And the only way you can do that is by being consistent. Consistency always beats talent. Every time. You don’t have to be the best singer to win a Grammy, you don’t have to be the best cook to make a great meal, and you don’t have to be the best employee to get a promotion. You just have to be consistent. You have to be better than you were yesterday. Every day.<br><br>I am not my best self yet, and I still have a lot to learn. But the one thing I do know is that I am better today than I was yesterday. And I am going to be better tomorrow than I am today. And this is how it should be. This is how it should have been all along.<br><br>So once again, here we go. But this time, it feels different.