Fresh start

When do most people resolve to start something new? In what month do gyms waive enrollment fees for new members? What is the best time of year to find your favorite book on habit-building on sale?

January of course. After the chaos of the holidays, we flip our calendars and see the perfect chance for a fresh start. We choose a “word” that will guide us and motivate us in the new year.

But is January really the best time to try something new?

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, January means winter. This month holds some of the darkest, coldest days of the year. We eat soup and sit by the fire. We go to bed in the dark and wake up in the dark.

No wonder bears hibernate.

What about us? Could it be we go against the natural rhythm of the seasons when we try to start something new in January? By February, most “new year’s resolutions” have been given up. We’re no longer motivated to continue something we’ve started or we go back to what we’ve eliminated, as we see even more winter upon us. It’s a depressing time of year.

The history of our traditional calendar includes a declaration by Julius Caesar in 45 BC. He decided the calendar year should start at the beginning of the Roman celebration to the god Janus, who is depicted as having two faces — one facing the past and one facing the future (that’s where we get the name “January”).

During the middle ages, the new year often started on different dates, due to the astronomical calendar not lining up with the Julian calendar and many people not wanting their new year tied to a Roman god. In the late 1500s the Gregorian calendar was developed, making our months the length they currently are today and returning to a start date of January 1.

So there really is no seasonal or rhythmic reason for our calendar year to begin when it does. It just does, thanks to some people who just made the decision.

Well I’d like to recommend something.

Allow your mind and body to see January as just another month on the calendar, a time of year to hibernate and enjoy the slowness of the season. Maybe do a little planning ahead, but don’t actually put any changes into practice just yet.

Save it for spring.

Spring has long been my favorite season of the year. I know many people who claim summer or fall to be their favorite. But for me the freshness and newness, sunshine and growing plants, and overall warming up of the earth inspires me. I even realized most of my job changes have happened in the spring.

Our bodies and minds awake in the spring. We literally come out of hibernation, just like the bears. We have the desire to spring clean our homes — why not spring clean our rhythms and habits too? Use the month of April (or maybe March if you’re in the southern US 🙂 ) instead of January to evaluate our health, habits, and work.

I don’t know about you, but I’m much more motivated to succeed when the sun is shining.