January is a doomed month. Cold and miserly and strangely stunted for a month with thirty-one days. That’s not what dooms it, of course. Its downfall is that it’s destined to be a month of beginnings. Sure, we like beginnings. We glorify them as great things, but ultimately, we start so many more things than we ever finish, that it hardly matters where or when a thing starts. And when something fails, either with a whimper or a catastropher, its starting point looks a lot less glorious. That’s what taints January.
After all, up to 25% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage. Something like 60% of all new restaurants fail within a year. Diets crash and burn on a near weekly basis. The new job turns into a suckfest, and the new marriage sours three years in.
I know there’s this huge pressure, both internal and external, to make big changes in the new year. This is the year you’re going to find an agent! This is the year you’re going to apply for better jobs! You’re gonna lose that weight! Sell that screenplay! Go back to school! Meet someone special! Learn Chinese!
Which is cool, but right now, I’m gonna offer you a reprieve. Right now, I’m saying, it’s okay not to start something new this week. Today doesn’t have to be the first day of the rest of your life. It’s okay if you don’t send out query letters today or sign up for that dating website or do PX30. I’m giving you permission to wait. I’m telling you that it’s okay to feel wobbly and unsure this week. If you’re feeling tired and overwhelmed by being back at work today, I understand. You don’t have to go off the big board into the deep end. You can just get into the pool from the steps in the shallow end. It won’t matter if you didn’t start today, as long as you finish.
Bryn Greenwood 
Thank you for this. My brain is still spinning from a lot of things that happened last month. I know I need to be the one to make changes if life is to get better, but it feels sometimes like I opened the barn door and found a ton of manure inside…and no pony in sight. I need to find a shovel, but first I need a Motrin and a nap. And a good dinner. And a pep talk from a really understanding friend. Let’s dial those resolutions back a bit. 🙂
The older I get (something I seem to be doing at an alarming rate), the less I treasure these special, landmark days. Just keeping on is my mantra. I made my last third of my life goals several years ago, they are works in progress, I have made some progress and learned lots. Thanks for your post!
I am starting this year with a lot of busy craziness going on. But, still, strangely optimistic. I helped Ashlee move the last three days. It was very difficult, but everything went well and I was where I was needed when I was supposed to be, and then left when the time was exactly right. So….well…..still optimistic.
Daughter-un-law (mother to grandson, but not married to son) is having surgery tomorrow to remove a cyst from her tailbone. I am taking Cammie for three days. I’m hoping surgery goes well and grandson is happy with grandparents for that long. (maybe I should right my own post! Bahahaha) …..
My mantra is “Do your best”….even if that’s just getting out of bed….or not.
Or maybe I should right my own post by writing my own post. Sigh. 😀 Still optimistic.
I don’t make resolutions in January — the cold and dark are simply to be got through, that is achievement enough! Keep on keeping on!
And that first week is the worst. To me anyway. After two weeks of hanging out in the warmth of home in comfortable clothes, now you’re required to brave the elements and your office chair and other people. It’s too much.
I concur about the first week back. It’s only Wednesday morning and I’m tired through and wanting to be a lot closer to the weekend, as I’ve already whined to several coworkers this morning.
I never make resolutions until at least Chinese New Year. And mostly not then.
Yeah, I’m not really into resolutions, but I am in the habit of starting projects at the new year. And sometimes when that first week is a flop, I take it personally, when I ought to just let it ride.