Here’s why New Year’s resolutions don’t work

If you had a dollar for every time you heard the phrase ‘new year, new me,’ you’d probably be quite well off (and able to tackle one of your resolutions to be better with money!). However, the cold hard reality is that many New Year’s Resolutions rarely make it past the second week in January.

While a new year seems like the perfect time to wipe the slate clean and usher in a new version of yourself, especially after the holiday season’s excesses, the start of January is often the worst possible time to do this. Here’s why:

The weather

For a start, it’s still the middle of winter. It’s cold, the days are short, and the nights are long. Many of us just want comfort at this time of year, and the notion of embarking on some life-altering resolution seems too much.

However, we can still engage in small self-betterment acts, such as wrapping up warm and getting outside for a walk regularly. It doesn’t require much commitment, and you can take it at your own pace. Getting out is great for your mood, as it gives you a chance to grab whatever limited sunlight there is.

The calendar

January 1 maybe New Year’s Day, but when it comes to significant behavioural change, do we need to be wedded to the calendar? Deciding to change our behaviour shouldn’t be dictated by an arbitrary date. Besides, New Year’s used to be celebrated at different times of the year by other cultures. Celts and Pagans marked the New Year around springtime when all the plants and flowers came back to life. Maybe that’s a better time to make New Year’s resolutions.

Find more inspirational content with the great books from www.upspirity.com.

Motivational Quotes To Inspire You to Do What You Want to Do

Are you in need of a positive motivational quote, quip, or saying to inspire you to take that next step? Then here you go!

“Don’t quit your daydream” —Unknown

“Coming back to where you started is not the same as not leaving.” —Terry Pratchett

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing” —Ben Franklin

“If I had to give you one piece of advice, it would be this: don’t be intimidated by other people’s opinions. Only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risks and do what you really want to do. Seek out people who aren’t afraid of making mistakes and who, therefore, do make mistakes. Because of that, their work often isn’t recognized, but they are precisely the kind of people who change the world.” —from Aleph by Paulo Coelho

“I like things to happen. And if they don’t happen, I like to make them happen.” —Winston Churchill

“Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.” —Unknown

“Realize your youth while you have it. Don’t squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims, the false ideals, of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing.”

—from The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

“I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things that I’m afraid of.” —Joss Whedon

“I want to be around people that do things. I don’t want to be around people anymore that judge or talk about what people do. I want to be around people that dream and support and do things.” —Amy Poehler

“Some things aren’t meant to be tamed. For example, YOU.” —Unknown

“The only think you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” —Albert Einstein

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start,

anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” —Carl Bard

For more motivational quotes and content, check out www.upspirity.com.

Inspiring Life Quotes That Will Move You

These quotes will make you think, will uplift you, and will help inspire you to live a beautiful and meaningful life.

Life is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. Soren Kierkegaard

It always seems impossible until it’s done. Nelson Mandela

Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground. Theodore Roosevelt

It’s better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life. Elizabeth Kenny

Life is a question and how we live it is our answer. Gary Keller

Difficult and meaningful will always bring more satisfaction than easy and meaningless. Maxime Lagacé

Keep looking up… that’s the secret of life. Snoopy

Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes on. Samuel Butler

Life is not what happened back there or what might happen up ahead. Life is like the rhythm of the heart — every breath, every blink of the eye. It is beat by beat, moment by moment. This…is all there is. This…is all we need. Andy Puddicombe

It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not. Andre Gide

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. Douglas Adams

It’s not so much what we have in this life that matters. It’s what we do with what we have. Fred Rogers

For more daily inspiration, check out www.upspirity.com.