January 2022 is right around the corner, and as the new year approaches, many people reflect upon the last year and what aspects of their life they want to improve upon. Many people waste a whole year’s worth of progress by not setting goals and therefore preventing themselves from achieving their full potential. For whatever reason, each year on January 1st, everyone’s mindsets shift.

In this one moment, everyone simultaneously decides that now it’s time to go after their goals. But why wait? Don’t get me wrong, setting New Year’s resolutions is a healthy way to motivate people to engage in self-improvement but it should not be the sole motivator. The issue with setting goals one out of the 365 days in the year is that it doesn’t set people up for success. In addition, when setting goals it is important to recognize the reason behind setting them. If the goals are set because it is something everyone else is doing then the odds of you following through with them are low. Whereas, if you set your goals because it is something you genuinely care about, you will benefit from them much more.

According to a study done by UAB medicine less than 8% of people actually follow through with their New Year’s resolutions, however, millions of people continue to set them year after year. This is not to say people shouldn’t set these resolutions, but that we should approach them in a new, more realistic, and healthy way. If we truly want to see growth from our goals and resolutions we should be setting them so that as the year goes on we can adjust them to what is most relevant in our lives.

Time plays a big role in our lives, throughout each year we change and grow as individuals and so should our goals. Time is more valuable than many people acknowledge, so rather than only setting goals during New Years we should be creating, focusing, and changing them year-round.

With this in mind, as we experience the last month of 2021 and continue through the New Year, if you have something you want to change or improve, stop waiting.