Image: Resolutions via Tim Mossholder (Unsplash)
“All fools have one thing in common,” writes Seneca, “they are always getting ready to start.”
Towards the end of every year, millions of people promise themselves that Jan. 1 will be the day they finally begin improving their lives — taking a class, exercising consistently or breaking a bad habit. As the weeks roll by, the motivation sparked by the new year begins to fizzle out and the self-improvement eventually comes to a halt.
There are many explanations that spell out why New Year’s Resolutions fail, but one common reason is that these resolutions are, in fact, procrastination disguised as planning. Waiting for the arrival of an arbitrary calendar date to kickstart your new era evinces a lack of genuine commitment towards your goals and serves as a comforting illusion that you are going to change. It gives you an excuse to postpone action.
Perfection Is Not Possible
“The best time to start something was yesterday. The second best time is today.” If you think at some point in the future life will bring forth perfect circumstances, you will waste your life in vain. Life will always entail obstacles and setbacks, and that is a fact we must accept in order to overcome our fears. Those who wait for the stars to perfectly align end up waiting forever, but we obviously don’t have forever. Action, whether big or small, perfect or imperfect, has to start today, rather than at some point in the future, and with consistency, a disciplined mind and refined skill set will follow.
Prospective Retrospection
To motivate me to start, I like to employ an ancient Stoic practice known as prospective retrospection, which is a meditation that involves us imagining our future self looking back at our present self and asking a simple question: “What do I wish my past self started doing?” Through the application of this meditation, we can preemptively avoid regret.
When I was first applying to college, I was worried that the next four years of my life would take forever, but then I realized how silly this thought was. I imagined what my future self, four years from now, would think about me today and how much I would regret my inaction. Regardless of whether I am in college or not, these next four years will elapse anyway. I could either spend them making progress or not. The uncomfortable truth is that in order for us to graduate college, we actually have to go to college. In order for us to become healthy, we actually have to exercise and eat healthy. Change requires action. The longer we wait, the stronger our procrastination grows, and we miss out on potential progress.
The Finitude of Our Life
As time inexorably passes by, we must remind ourselves that it is the one resource we can never recover, making action today infinitely more valuable than intentions for tomorrow. Making a change today ensures that we make the most out of our limited time, marking a life in which we learn from our mistakes and build on our success rather than rue our missed opportunities.
Holding Ourselves Accountable
Having a tangible record of our goals, either by confiding to others or by privately journaling, makes it harder for us to give up. We become more ashamed when others are aware of our failures as opposed to keeping them secret. By sharing our intentions with others, we can positively use that fear of letting others down to spur action towards self-growth. Journaling is also an effective way to track progress, which fuels motivation. Noticing incremental changes from day to day, whether it be losing weight or being a better writer, is often difficult until you look back at earlier entries and get a clear sense of growth.
In the end, the future should not mark our beginning towards self-improvement. The present should. If we are serious about our goals, then we will make changes in our actions or mentality right now, no matter how insignificant they are. Starting is the most uncomfortable — but also the most important — part of any endeavor. It only gets easier from then on. Procrastination can only be overcome by action, not intention. Just remember, if you want to achieve something, you are going to have to start at some point. By making that start today, you are investing in the person you want to become tomorrow.
Sameh Sharoud is a fourth-year Psychology student with a minor in Biology. SS1015422@wcupa.edu.