Ah, the magic of a fresh start! New Year’s Eve always feels like a special night for most of us. Traditions such as eating grapes under the table, glamorous parties, spending quality time with our families, or just a cosy night in bed truly help us commemorate our memories. Logically, it’s just another spin around the sun if you really think about it. However, for most of us it signals new beginnings and a fresh slate for the upcoming year, where we are free from the shackles of the past. There’s something truly enchanting about the promise of a new tomorrow, where we can embody the new and improved versions of ourselves.
But how practical is this mindset? Are we really that volatile as humans that we agree to change our thoughts, actions and behaviors over the few ticks of a clock? Well, the answer is no. However, the thought is quite alluring, isn’t it? This is due to the ‘fresh start effect’ – a psychological concept where events like birthdays and New Year’s, as well as significant events act as a mental reset button. It’s pretty much a more professional way to describe the random urge you get at 2 AM to fix your entire life, except the fact that this is reserved for the first day of the year.
THE FANTASY OF THE FRESH START
The ‘fresh start effect’ is accompanied with a boost of motivation and a renewed sense of optimism, encouraging us to plan ahead in order to step into the best versions of ourselves. However, this often leads us to create unrealistic goals and expectations, as we shoot for the stars on the very first day of the year, leading to exhaustion, frustration and a severe loss of energy and inspiration. After all, there’s a reason why most new year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February.
Moreover, there’s a lot of social pressure accompanied with this phenomenon. As the end of the year rolls in, everyone’s on a mission to showcase their achievements of the year, whether it’s the promotion they got at work or their millionth trip to Bali. Trust me, bedrotting while seeing a hundred recap reels pop up on my feed with ‘That’s So True’ by Gracie Abrams (one of my favorite songs by the way) playing in the background is not good for my self esteem. While I’m more than happy for all of these people, seeing such curated versions of strangers’ lives back to back tends to get overwhelming. Especially as I’m trying to process my own thoughts about the year ending.
The urge to be better as quickly as possible hits me like a monster truck, and before I realize what’s happening, I’m hyper analyzing every aspect of my life and finding faults and criticisms in the smallest things. While I hate to admit it, expecting drastic changes overnight is just a step towards failure. However, there are some things we can do to ensure we have a year ahead where we’re actively working on and improving ourselves.
FOCUS OVER FLEETING MOTIVATION
Bursts of motivation, while inspiring in the moment, do not get us anywhere. The goal should be to work on consistency. Building habits by breaking down our goals gives us a roadmap to follow, making it easier to achieve them. Rather than jumping to resolutions such as ‘I will get good grades’, think about how that could manifest into everyday habits – this could be reading a recap of the subject every night before going to bed, attending classes regularly, studying in advance for quizzes and so much more. Having vague and abstract goals make it overwhelming to do, as most times the biggest hurdle is to just start.
CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF
You’ve set your goals. Now, it’s time to track your progress. The key is to ask yourself introspective questions that force you to be honest. It could be similar to the following: Do any of your current methods need alterations? Are your goals making you feel fulfilled and happy? What else can you do to improve your life? What changes are you seeing already? These could help you assess where you’re at, and provide you with the right information to move forward.
I’ve seen a lot of people schedule monthly check-ins with themselves in the form of meetings or solo dates, and I personally think that’s such a fun and interesting way to approach a potentially scary topic. My progress (or sometimes lack thereof) is a source of constant anxiety for me, but my debilitating perfectionism often blinds me to the improvements I’ve made in my life. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling this way. Turning this into an enjoyable activity gives you something to look forward to, making it a lot less daunting.
CELEBRATE YOUR WINS
This could be a very biased opinion, but I’m someone who loves a celebration. We all get one life, and what’s the point if we don’t go out of our way to make it as interesting and fulfilling as possible? I think it’s very important to celebrate your wins, however small you may think they are. These serve as good motivation/ mile markers in your journey of progress, and can push you to seamlessly achieve the rest of your goals. Sometimes, it’s natural to give up on a few of them, but as long as you try, that’s what matters.
TAKEAWAY
Remember, you don’t need a ‘fresh start’ to kickstart your life. Every day, hour, minute and second is a new beginning that you can utilize to complete your goals. The strategy is to break it down, consistently follow up on yourself, and celebrate it all – big or small! Let this new year be the one where you realise that true motivation and willpower lies within yourself, and not arbitrary days and times. Manifesting 2026 (or should I say 2016?) will be full of happiness, success, rest and lots and lots of positive energy!
