Tommy has to work this weekend, and I have a little extra time to myself, so I thought I’d sit down and write. I’m sitting in a cafe with my laptop while waiting for Tommy to get out of work. Then we will head to his hockey game. I just finished watching Wicked: For Good in the theater. It’s a solid musical finale, but it didn’t quite land for me the way the original did. The sequel feels less emotional and impactful overall. The pacing is a bit uneven, some new songs don’t really stick, and it doesn’t live up to Part One’s strength. Still, I enjoyed it; I just prefer the original. There was something more powerful and memorable about it that stayed with me longer. Much like January, this weekend feels like a moment in between, reflecting on what I’ve just experienced and what’s yet to come, not quite one thing or another.
January, derived from the Latin Ianuarius, is named after Janus, the ancient Roman god of beginnings, endings, and transitions. He’s often depicted with two faces, one looking back at the past and the other facing the future. I think out of all the months, January might be the most misunderstood. It’s often treated like a starting gun, new goals, new habits, new versions of ourselves, when, in reality, it’s more of a threshold. A pause between what has ended and what hasn’t fully begun yet. January isn’t loud or dramatic; it’s quiet, reflective, and in-between.
January also sits in the dead of winter, a time when everything is resting. Flowers aren’t blooming, trees stand bare, and many animals are dormant or hibernating. Winter moves slowly and quietly; it isn’t a season of rapid growth or dramatic change. In contrast, spring is when everything wakes up, buds form, leaves return, and the world feels new again.
Maybe that’s where we go wrong with January. We expect it to be a season of instant transformation, when nature itself is telling us to slow down. Perhaps resolutions and the idea of becoming a “new you” aren’t meant to arrive all at once. Maybe they’re meant to develop gradually, at a gentler pace, with time for rest, reflection, and adjustment.
According to Forbes Health, people give up on their New Year’s resolutions after an average of about 3.7 months, roughly around mid-April. That means most goals fade well before the year is even halfway over. In fact, many resolutions don’t make it through the month of January at all. It’s not necessarily a failure of willpower; it may simply be a mismatch between our expectations and the season we’re in. Winter asks us to pause, not to sprint.
Maybe instead of aiming for total transformations and committing to rigid new routines, it makes more sense to slow things down. Think of January as a trial run rather than a finish line. Try gently adjusting one habit, experimenting with a small change, or slowly adding something new into your life to see how it fits. There’s no pressure for it to be permanent right away.
A complete lifestyle overhaul often sounds inspiring, but in reality, it can quickly become overwhelming. When everything changes at once, it’s easy to feel frazzled, exhausted, and discouraged, sometimes as early as the second week. Small, intentional shifts are more sustainable. They leave room for flexibility, rest, and learning what actually works for you. Growth doesn’t have to be loud or fast to be meaningful; sometimes the quiet, gradual changes are the ones that last.
Those are just my thoughts on New Year’s resolutions. Maybe it’s not about reinventing yourself overnight, but about making small, thoughtful shifts and seeing where they lead.
I have a small amount of anxiety being here alone, but my noise-cancelling headphones are helping a bit. I’m going to post this and put on some YouTube to distract myself while I wait for Tommy to get off work.
