It’s the 31st of December, 2025 and the time is 11:59 pm. There’s only one minute left for this year to end and 2026 to start. I’m on a video call with all my friends and we’re doing the countdown. We’re excited and cannot wait to become the best version of ourselves in this year new. However, it’s the 9th of January today and all that motivation I felt during the first few days of January is slowly fading away. I find myself falling back into old habits like scrolling at night although I was really determined to read instead of scroll in my new year resolution.
January 1st provides us with comfort because it marks a new beginning. As humans, we love the idea of new beginning and fresh starts so that we can leave all our bad habits and moments in the past and start anew. Dates act as mental bookmarks and the beginning of a new year helps us pause for a little bit, reflect on the past year and plan the new year. This structure makes uncertainty and workload manageable.
A major reason why January 1st feels different from any other day is because of cultural reinforcements such as celebrations, resolutions, rituals etc. People from all around the world celebrate new year. This collective participation of people in celebrations creates meaning and strengthens the idea of starting fresh together. However, this idea of change is only an illusion since nothing really changes. Our lives do not transform overnight. Just the changing of years on a calender does not get rid of all our problems, worries and bad habits. All these problems and unfinished tasks from the previous year get carried into the new year. Although nothing changes, it provides us with emotional relief.
Celebrating the new year, making resolutions and working towards the idea of “new year, new me” is a way in which humans seem reassurance that things can be different. That, no matter how hard or unproductive the previous year has been, they can still start anew and leave all that behind. Hope is used as a survival tool. However, this hope sometimes turns into pressure. People make vision boards, new year resolutions etc and create high expectations for themselves before the year even begins. Sometimes, people set unrealistic goals and when they fail to achieve them, it ends in disappointment.
The first day of the year should be treated as symbolic instead of decisive. It is important to understand that one can start anew on any day of the year. The only thing required is determination. It is never too late to let go of old habits and become a better version of yourself. Progress is not linear and certainly not sudden. The beginning of a new year is not required to change your life and make it better.