Today is not the start of a New Year. In fact, we are still a few days away from the New Year. That means I still have some time to ponder my New Year’s resolutions. I have a question though. Isn’t that the wrong way to approach change in my life? Why wait for a specific day to change my life for the better? Is the karma of the New Year going to make me more apt and successful with my goals?
We all make goals that we never fully follow through with. We dream of a better life and a better us, yet we can falter in our execution. As an entire country, we wait for the New Year just to optimistically believe we will be better this time and that our goals will work out this New Year, before trailing off again and losing sight like previous years. I do it.
What change you seek to make, it requires a goal, a plan, and a support system. Recovery is a goal. Not a clear, specific goal, but a broad, generalized belief in what we wish to become. To achieve recovery, or any goal, we need to implement a plan. But, we don’t have to wait until January 1st, a holiday or a special occasion to start implementing our plan to find recovery.
Every person’s plan shouldn’t be too vast, but should include simple, specific steps in the right direction. Each step should not be a jump towards success, but a single movement towards continued progress. We all have individualized plans we create, which must be continuously adapted to successes and failures.
We need those around us to support us and nurture our little goals. Whether that loved one who holds me accountable to my plan is a friend, a support group, a physician, or someone else, we need another person’s strength to help us continue along. It takes great strength to change our lives, break our patterns, and uproot our habits. We must seek help from others to nurture the commitments we are making to ourselves.
As long-living beings, we must constantly find ways to improve ourselves. We spend so much time on Earth that it’s a waste to maintain our same levels of success for too long. Try to make yourself better. Whether your changes revolve around recovery, or not, you can find a “new you” behind every decision you make, every plan you develop, and every goal you pronounce.
If you can start the process of ending pain and suffering now, why wait for the New Year? That day you take the first step is already a New Year. A toast to the “New You.”
About the author:
Blake Strader is Walden’s Social Media Intern. In this role, he is responsible for researching topics related to Walden’s business, writing blog posts, and keeping the public up-to-date on Walden’s doings via Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, and LinkedIn. Currently, Blake is in pursuit of a Computer and Information Systems degree from Bentley University.
