Start, Stop & Change: January 1st

A client recently mentioned wanting to start a new fitness routine. But she’s waiting until her birthday to begin. Her birthday isn’t for another 2 months.

A friend’s been skipping her morning routine because she’s hitting the snooze button too many times. She said, Maybe I’ll get back to it once the kids are in school. Weeks from now.

I had an inspiring conversation the other day with a woman who’s so excited about what she wants for her next chapter. Then she said it might be better to wait and kick things off at the start of the year. 6 months away!

Are you like these women?

Are you waiting?

Are you waiting for January 1st, your birthday, or some other date when the planets align to start something or go after what you really want?

Are you waiting…waiting…waiting to live with more intention?

Well, I’m here to say: You don’t need to wait. Now is the time.

The time to start. To get something off the ground. To take the plunge.

Here are 10 reasons not to wait until January 1st.

  1. There’s nothing magical about starting a new endeavor on a particular date. There’s as much logic in picking a random Thursday at 2 p.m. to get started as the “clean slate” of a new year.
  2. Waiting for January 1st or your birthday to go after what you want might be common practice, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessary. Veer from the norm. Start today.
  3. Waiting for a specific date is just a form of procrastination….which you’ve likely already been doing if you haven’t already gotten what you wanted!
  4. You really only have today—right now, this moment. Don’t waste precious time by skipping past what’s possible today.
  5. Waiting to begin is half living now for something off in the future. You deserve full-on living, not half measures.
  6. Time will pass—regardless—between today and that arbitrary date in the future when you could get started. But think of all the progress you can make in the meantime if you don’t wait to begin.
  7. Declaring your intention at your next birthday party or making a resolution on January 1st adds a lot of unnecessary stress. It leads to an all or nothing outlook. Starting now takes the pressure off.
  8. Thinking you need to wait for some special day on the calendar lets you off the hook for living the way now that you want to live then. Raise your standards.
  9. When you put off starting something you want, it’s an invitation to less-than-intentional living in all areas of your life. It’s like waiting until Monday to start the diet and bingeing all weekend on chocolate cake.
  10. Putting more intention in every day means there’s no special power to January 1st or the day you turn a year older. Be someone who pursues the life she wants 365 days a year.

You don’t need to wait for a special occasion to start living with more intention.

So whatever you’re dreaming about, whatever you’re wanting—don’t wait. Put intention in today and get started.