Rich Thinking: On why January might not be the best time for resolutions

New Year might not be the best time for resolutions (at least in the northern hemisphere), but spring might be a great time....

We have a lot of new starts. An unwritten notebook. A replacement kitchen. A next job. A fresh wardrobe. A relationship beginning.

When do they help us to change?

New Year resolutions are the cliché that won’t die.

Useful if we’ve spent some time reflecting on what’s worked so far, and what might work better — at a time of year where many of us have a little room to pause and think.

But on the downside, in much of the northern hemisphere at least, this might not be the easiest time to make change.

Running in the dark and cold is less appealing than in early spring sunshine.

Firing up a project team when everyone is in a post-festive comedown takes extra effort.

Giving up comfort food or booze, when our instinct is to hibernate in front of the fire at the Red Lion, might not be easy.

But big changes start small.

When I’m slipping out of good running habits, a doctor mate likes to remind me that a 5-minute run round the block is always more valuable than doing nothing.

The idea that it’s “barely worth bothering” is what keeps the inertia going.

Confidence and momentum come from how we feel from doing something, more than thinking about it.

If in doubt, move.

The old trick is that once we commit to doing something for 5 or 15 minutes, the chances are we’ll end up keeping going for longer.

It’s starting something that we often resist, for fear of how it’s going to go.

So it's great to have grand ambitions, but we should be careful of spending too much time on crafting them - versus opening the front door and getting out there.

Even if small changes end up being too much in January, we can console ourselves that spring was once regarded as the beginning of the year — and a naturally optimistic time to make change.

That also gives some of us another three months to finish off the Christmas cheese. And I'm available to help you with that.

photo credit: Barbara Olsen / Pixels