On December 30, 2015, I was finishing up my workout when I decided I wanted to commit to a daily meditation practice.
I had successfully completed some 30-day meditation challenges and I knew that I liked how I felt after meditation, but I hadn’t yet managed to get past 30 days.
The common approach would be to say,
It’s December 30. I’ll start it on January 1.
Or perhaps
I’ll do it when I get home.
After all, the middle of the gym doesn’t seem like the ideal place to meditate.
I did not wait for January 1. Nor did I wait until I got home.
Instead, I opened up the Calm app on my phone and started right where I was: on the mat in the gym.
This time, the practice stuck.
Today I celebrate the 7 year anniversary of my daily meditation practice. I still sit for a daily meditation with the Calm app. Typically I do it at the end of my morning workout. And most often, I still do it in the middle of the gym.
Right now, there’s probably a practice you want to commit to starting.
It’s likely that you’ve told yourself you’ll start on January 1.
If so, you’re in good company.
You’ve also set yourself up to fail.
Over the past decade, I’ve created many long-lasting daily “habits” or practices, including daily workouts, meditation, writing, blogging, and a daily review. I’ve also helped hundreds of people make lasting changes in their lives.
I’ve found that January 1 is actually the WORST day of the year to start a new practice.
Here are 3 reasons why:
(1) Too Much Pressure
The type of wellness “habits” that most of us want to create are actually not habits at all. Creating them is more complex than implementing the “cue-trigger-reward” habits loop. (More on this another time).
Studies show that 80% of people fall off their new year’s “habits” after 2 weeks.
The point is: this is hard.
January 1 comes loaded with expectations around “resolutions” and “goals” and “new habits.” These expectations only add to the resistance you’re already facing.
You don’t need more pressure.
(2) Law of Diminishing Intent (LODI)
The Law of Diminishing Intent is the principle that the further you get from your intention, the less likely you are to implement it.
You’ve certainly experienced this:
“Later” often turns into … “wait, what was that thing I wanted to do?”
You get an insight and flash of energy around something. But then you move on to other things and suddenly that impulse has died off.
Once you leave a space and change contexts, other things interfere.
A big part of success in creating and sustaining daily practices is learning how to play your energy well.
(3) Starting on a Random Day Forces You to Pay More Attention.
Okay, stick with me here, because this might seem counterintuitive.
The principle here is that where focus goes, energy flows.
At the beginning of any new ritual or practice, it is crucial to establish a streak. No matter what app or system I use to count for me, I also find it helpful to keep track in my head.
Thinking about how many days I’ve completed brings more attention and energy to the practice.
When I start on a day that is not the 1st of a month, it’s a bit more effort to calculate it in my head. For the first months of my meditation practice, I would add the days in each month, then also add the last 2 days of December. It forced me to pay more attention to it.
That increased energy from counting the days gets me more invested in it. And that makes it easier to maintain.
The TL;DR
If you want to start a new practice, don’t wait for January 1.
Don’t make a resolution.
Decide. Commit. Resolve.
And START. Where you are. In the moment.
Any questions? Challenges?
Leave them in the comments.
[…] Each year I write that January 1 is not the best time to start the year. […]