I always find the week before a New Year is an interesting time to ask people how they feel about the upcoming year. The responses never cease to amuse me.
Quite a few of them are in yolo mode, partying away the last week. I even learned a new term—rot week—a self-care trend involving spending the week in bed, sleeping, watching TV, eating, or scrolling on a device. This camp believes that after rot week, discipline will miraculously appear in their lives at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 and stay.
Then, there are others who appear pretty jaded. To them, January 1 is like every other day. They have seen enough January 1s, and nothing really changes. They believe NY resolutions are like putting sunscreen on at midnight—a colossal waste of time and effort.
Personally, I have seen enough NY resolutions that have gone the way of celebrity marriages in Hollywood—over before they even started. Still, I remain hopeful and believe that lasting change can happen in our lives if we are serious about it.
This optimism didn’t just dawn on me overnight. It’s taken years of trial and error (and studying self-help literature) to understand how to change habits and behaviors.
Most New Year's resolutions fall to the wayside because, unlike what the Secret tells you, you cannot simply want your way to a better self. Real Change is a four-step process, and each step is equally important.
- Decide (on what needs to change)
- Act (per the decision)
- Review and Reflect (Are you heading in the right direction?)
- Course-Correct as needed
We are all too enthusiastic about the first part of the process, half-hearted about step 2, and almost wholly ignore steps 3 and 4.
The decision part (Step 1) is easy: read enough inspiring material or follow enough influencers online, and you’ll find a hundred things worth doing with your time.
Step 2—The action part is also easy, at least initially. Adrenaline and novelty are enough to get most of us started on a new idea. However, most people falter after the first few days. That’s when things become tricky, and soon, we hit the wall.
I have run enough marathons to know what the “Wall” can feel like…a phenomenon that marathon runners often experience when their bodies run out of readily available energy, usually around miles 18-20 of the 26.2-mile race.
Hitting the wall is like hitting an invisible barrier, where running suddenly becomes incredibly difficult, both physically and mentally.
There are scientific reasons for the slump. Here’s really what happens: Our muscles and liver store glycogen, the body’s preferred energy source for running. Unless one is careful with supplementation, glycogen reserves may be depleted about two-thirds of the way into the race. When that happens, the body no longer has an easy source of energy and has to burn fat for fuel, which is a slower and less efficient process.
In the meantime, though, muscles struggle to function properly without sufficient glycogen, leading to a heavy, sluggish feeling and brain fog. The mental strain of pushing through physical discomfort can feel overwhelming, making it tempting to stop, and soon, we see a drop in motivation, focus, and decision-making abilities.
Hitting the wall is challenging, but it can often be avoided—or at least mitigated with the right preparation and strategy! The experienced runner will know how to anticipate the wall, acknowledge it, and still find the will and strength to move past it. It can be done.
The same is true for New Year’s resolutions and life changes. We often hit a metaphorical “wall” when our initial excitement wears off, and we’re left with the hard, unglamorous work of persistence. That’s when most resolutions falter—not because the goals are unattainable, but because we aren’t prepared for the obstacles along the way.
It’s easy to decide to run a marathon, lose weight, or start meditating daily; it's much more challenging to persevere through the moments when it feels inconvenient, uncomfortable, or even pointless.
But just as seasoned runners plan for the wall, we can prepare for the moments when motivation dips and life gets in the way. That’s where Steps 3 and 4—review and course correction—come into play.
Regularly taking stock of what’s working and what’s not allows us to adjust our approach instead of giving up entirely. Maybe your resolution to hit the gym five days a week turns out to be unrealistic with your current schedule, but three days a week is doable and still a win. Maybe your goal of eating healthy needs to include a strategy for cravings or social events.
Real change doesn’t happen all at once, and it rarely follows a straight line. It’s a messy, imperfect process of trial and error. But if you keep showing up—adjusting, recalibrating, and refusing to quit—you’ll find that the wall isn’t the end of the road. It’s just a challenge to overcome, one step at a time.
John Hanc said, "Marathons are about tenacity as much as talent." The same can be said for any new endeavor you decide to embark on this year.
Stay inspired. Happy New Year!