January is named after Janus, the two-faced Roman god who looks backwards into the old year and forwards into the new so it is fitting that the majority of people use the dawning of a new year as both a moment to reflect over the year gone by and an opportunity to make changes.
A new month offers the perfect opportunity to look forward across the year and answer the question ‘How can we keep up our momentum this year in the things that we do?’ There were many significant anniversaries last year and January provides an ideal opportunity to look back at both what you have achieved so far but also to provide the momentum and impetus for the changes that you still want or need to take place. If you have a date to work towards, your motivation and willpower remains on a high and clearly, using special dates and anniversaries can be a powerful motivational tool and can provide the push that is needed to complete your goals.
30 days may feel like a long time to give up chocolate but maybe it's just the right length of time to start that book you've been meaning to write, or maybe you have some old photos hidden away that need sorting through? The new year is the perfect time to knuckle down and add some flesh to the bones of that project you have been working on (or putting off!).
When starting a new project, structure and planning is essential but not very exciting. The difficulty can arise when trying to maintain enthusiasm beyond the first flush of interest, and so we asked our authors how they maintain their enthusiasm when researching and writing their books. We have condensed their experience into 12 top tips on staying motivated and maintaining momentum which are perfect for getting you started on that project that you have been avoiding.
Plus, if you do fall off the wagon with your resolutions, console yourself with the thought that you are not alone. Richard Wiseman, a well-known psychologist, discovered that 52% of people making New Year's resolutions were confident they'd stick it out. Yet only 12% did. So why bother? New Year's resolutions are ‘a triumph of hope over experience’ and a way of assessing how far you have come.
If all else fails just remind yourself that giving up stuff for a month, probably won’t do you much good anyway…