Does anyone even make New Year’s resolutions anymore? I mean, how do they normally turn out for most people?

Most people forget theirs by February. That’s the reality.

Myself included! And every time I’ve waited until January 1st to make a change in my life, I ended up regretting it and wishing for that extra time back.

So many times, I’ve let myself down by letting myself off the hook, and one of the “best” ways to do that is to let yourself coast until some mythical date hanging in the near future when you’re going to be supremely self-disciplined for the rest of your life, never again falling into temptation or crumbling in a moment of weakness.

That imagined future state of perfect self-discipline will never exist, and your goals and dreams — your vision for your one and only life — can’t afford to wait.

It’s Always Too Early to Quit

Making resolutions in December is like slowing down at the 22-mile mark during a marathon. It’s like quitting on your entire year and going home.

That’s not going to work for driven people like us. We need to expect more from ourselves than anyone else could ever expect from us.

Now, don’t misunderstand me:

We all need to prioritize rest and recovery at some point. We can’t just keep going and going and going, never giving any thought to the intensity of the demands we’re placing on our bodies and our minds.

Rest is important, and I’m no “hustle culture” bro.

I’m only suggesting that you never do more this week than you can recover from this week, or more today than you can recover from today. That’s sustainable progress, and you can keep that up pretty much the entire year.

And, if you’ve been working the last 48 weeks straight with hardly any breaks, jeezus! Take December off! Relax! Sleep in a little. Maybe even think up some New Year’s resolutions if you want.

My whole point here, though, is that none of us have any time to waste and that maybe instead of “New Year’s” resolutions, maybe we should make New Day’s resolutions instead!

Did I just make that up? I might have! I mean, there’s not much that’s brand new in the self-improvement space since the fifties, but I’ve never heard of New Day’s resolutions before.

Anyway, moving on…

I mean, each and every day you wake up in the morning is a new chance to rise up and get after it! To go after that Thing that you said you want so badly.

Now is your chance.

Today is what we all live for. And there are too many TODAYs left in December to be thinking about January already.

Thank you for reading this far! Most people give up too early. If you know anyone else who might like to read this post, please share it with them!

The “What the Hell Effect”

One of the reasons why New Year’s resolutions hardly ever work is that people succumb to the “what the hell effect.”

This is when, in the middle of some long-term project or designated time period, you miss a day, and then say to yourself, “Ah, what the hell, I may as well write off this entire day, since I already had a cookie this morning when I said I wasn’t going to. Now the whole day is ruined!”

This phenomenon shows up when people say, “Ah, what the hell, I mean, I’m going to be having turkey on Christmas and probably some gravy too, so I may as well not start my diet until January 1st! That’s easier!”

You can see what’s terribly, terribly wrong about this reasoning, can’t you???

Now, I’m one to talk — giant hypocrite that I’m being right now — because I’m literally eating gummy bears while I write this and I’ve been to the gym just twice this whole week.

But I had a photoshoot about two weeks ago and I’m “recovering” from it right now. Honest! I am! Here’s the proof:

One final point I want to bring up before I let you go…

And thank you for reading this far — your commitment to yourself and to your own self-improvement is inspiring. At least it is to me. I love seeing people win, and I want you to win.

That’s why I write The Competitive Advantage — for people like you.

But okay, what I wanted to mention here at the end is that it is absolutely worth looking ahead into January and beyond, even if it’s still technically a few weeks away.

Just don’t wait to take action on the goals and dreams that are important to you, just because some random calendar date says that it’s too early to make a move.

It’s not too early. Start thinking about what goals you’re going to crush in 2023, but don’t wait until 2023 to get started on them.

I’m looking ahead far into 2023, and I’m doing a ton of work this week to get myself ready.

For example, I’m updating my media kit and website so I can help authors promote their books on my Instagram page; I’m getting ahead of my YouTube upload schedule, updating my Patreon book notes — I’m doing all these things to set myself up for success in 2023.

But I’m not waiting until 2023 to start doing them! That’s the difference.

And also, apparently, gummy bears give you an awesome sugar rush that hypes you up for writing — I mean, right now I feel my fingers blazing across the keys and I am just…going.

Anyway, the last thing I’ll say is that it’s never too late to make a change in your life — big or little — and anyone who is truly and honestly aiming to improve at anything should know that I am with them 100% and always will be. We’re on the same team, you and I.

Let’s make 2023 our best year ever!

All the best,

Matt Karamazov

P.S. I’ve just made all of my book notes and summaries from 1,100+ books available for $1 on my Patreon. You’ll also get tons of other valuable/cool rewards as well, for basically nothing. Merry Christmas! You can check it out here.