Be better than you were yesterday.

2017 has been and gone, another year just like that.

Now, it’s January 2018; time to reflect on the year that has passed and start putting plans in place for the year to come.

Time to get dust off your notepads and coloured markers, get your Facebook and Instagram posts ready to kick-start another new years resolution! Let the world know what the year is going to be about for you, what you will achieve, that this is your year; let’s go get it, #newyearnewyou!

What a crock of shit!

Sorry about the salty language (not really, #sorrynotsorry), but in case you haven't noticed, I’ve never really been a fan of the 'new years resolutions' concept.

Why?

To me, it’s essentially an excuse to put off something which is most likely going to cause some level of pain, discomfort or require hard work. It’s procrastination at the highest level - you’re putting something off not for a day or a week, but a whole year!

Imagine what you can achieve in a year, in 365 days.

Imagine the state of health you could return or elevate yourself to through a purposeful, disciplined lifestyle shift in healthy, wholesome eating and exercise over a year.

Imagine the level of spiritual alignment and connectivity you could attain through a years-worth of dedicated, focused, inner-reflection and meditative practice.

Imagine the number of books you could read in a years-time and the amount of content you could consume and learn; imagine the great mind-expanding potential.

The wrong frame of mind

In my opinion, the concept of a new years resolution harbours the wrong frame of mind.

I get it, the intention is there for the most part; I appreciate and respect that. But this is only the first step; intention on its own is simply not enough. New York Times Best Selling author, Caroline Myss couldn’t have said it better:

“Intention without action is useless” - Caroline Myss

To me, the frame of mind adopted by one who continually sets a new years resolution (often the same one each year as they are never able to keep it!) is someone who takes two of the most valuable aspects of life for granted – time & themselves.

Photo by Uroš Jovičić on Unsplash

If there is one thing which is a constant for each and every one of us, it is that time is finite; we all have a limited supply of it. Like the sand in an hour glass, it will flow until there is none left; the only difference is that you won’t have the opportunity to flip it around and start over.

It’s the most valuable commodity, bar none. How you use your time determines how the story of your life plays out.

“The trouble is, you think you have time” – Buddha

I’ll do x next year, I’ll start y on the 1st of January, I’ll quit z for my new years resolution…it may sound grim, but who’s to say you’ll have the opportunity? Whatever is going to happen in the future is never certain, so why leave anything to chance?

Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash

Who is the most important person in your life? Here’s a hint – they are looking at you through the mirror (no, it’s not your partner who is creeping on you)!

No matter who we are, we all have room to grow and improve, and to me, this will always be the case. We are not designed to be stagnant, we’re designed to strive and aspire. It’s what gives us our livelihood, keeps us real and inspired!

If you don’t invest in yourself and take yourself seriously, who else will? No one cares about you as much as you do, and why should they? They’ve got themselves to worry about!

“Self-love is the instrument of our preservation” – Voltaire

Take yourself seriously. Invest your time in your own wellbeing and continual growth. If you’re not well enough to enjoy all that life has to offer, how can you ever feel a sense of fulfilment?

Be better than you were yesterday

So, this is going to be your new years resolution for 2018 – take that concept, scrunch it up , toss it in the metaphorical trashcan and never set a new years resolution ever again!

Rather, you should be setting a new days resolution (every day of course…duh!) – be better than you were yesterday.

How?

It’s simple! Reflect at the end of each day and ask yourself the question – “How can I be better than I was yesterday?”

It can be anything at all:

• You want to improve your PB by half a second?
• You want complete one extra pull-up?
• You want to replace one sugary snack with a piece of fruit?
• You want to read one more page than you did yesterday?
• You want to say hi to a random stranger on the street?
• You want to clear one extra email from your inbox?

Whatever it is, your daily improvements don’t have to be monumental leaps forward. You don’t have to lose 10KG’s in a day. You don’t have to be able to run a marathon after a week of training. You don’t have to eliminate world hunger.

As the great Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu expresses through this beautiful analogy:

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” - Lao Tzu

And think about this – how empowering is it to wake up each morning, reflect on the day that has passed and know that you are a better version of yourself than you were yesterday?

Let me tell you, it’s incredibly empowering 😊

What do your new days resolutions look like? Do you have a different approach? Do you agree or disagree with this? I would love to hear from you so please leave a comment about this or anything else you have in mind!

Strive to live, live to strive.