252. Why Waiting Until January Is Keeping You Stuck

Why New Year's Resolutions Fail: The Truth About Real Change

In this episode of Kathie's Coaching Podcast, Kathie Owen, a wellness and performance coach with over 25 years of experience, delves into why New Year's resolutions often fail and what truly drives meaningful change.

Kathie explains that needing a specific date to start a change means you're avoiding an underlying issue. She emphasizes that real change happens through consistent behavior and decision-making rather than waiting for a new year to begin.

She encourages listeners to expect excellence and take immediate action rather than postponing their goals. Tune in to learn how to make true, lasting changes in your life.

Blog Post for today's episode: https://www.kathieowen.com/blog/new-year-resolutions-suck

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome to Kathie's Coaching Podcast
00:25 The Problem with New Year's Resolutions
01:40 The Psychology Behind Resolutions
02:46 The Importance of Consistency
03:54 Expect Excellence, Not Perfection
04:51 Real Change Happens Quietly
05:18 Kathie's Coaching Services
05:40 Closing Remarks

Transcript

0:03

Hey, welcome back to Kathie's Coaching Podcast. I'm your host, Kathie Owen. I've been a wellness and performance coach, former personal trainer of over 25 years, and I specialize in pattern recognition. In people, in workplaces, in habits, in the things that quietly keep us stuck. If you've ever felt irritated by New Year's resolutions or wondered why they never seem to work, this video is for you because today we're talking about something most people don't wanna hear, but desperately need to understand. Here it is. If you need a date to change, you're avoiding something. Yeah, I said it. And no, that's not judgment, that's pattern recognition. I've never liked New Year's resolutions, and I didn't even know why for a long time. I just knew they irritated me. Then I spent decades watching the same cycle. Repeat January hits, the gym explodes. Energy is loud, motivation is dramatic, and two weeks later, gone. Not because people are lazy, not because they don't want it badly enough, because nothing actually changed. A date changed, a story changed, but the identity stayed exactly the same. A New Year's resolution usually sounds productive, but psychologically it often means, I don't wanna deal with this right now. I'll become someone else later. Future me will handle it. That's not commitment, that's postponement. Dressed up as hope. If you need January 1st to begin, what you're really doing is creating distance from discomfort. Dates feel safer than decisions. Dates, give people permission to wait. They allow you to say, I'm not failing, I just haven't started yet. This year was bad. Next year will be better. Once the calendar flips, things will change, but your nervous system doesn't know it's January. Your habits don't reset because of a holiday. Your patterns don't dissolve because we all agreed it's a new year. Life doesn't work like that. Another thing that's bothered me, people trashing entire years. We've all heard it this year was awful. I can't wait to leave this year behind. Next year will be better. No, life is not divided into good years and bad years. Life is divided into seasons of learning. Some years stretch you. Some years break illusions. Some years, force boundaries. That doesn't make them bad, that makes them necessary. You don't grow by skipping chapters. So let's say it again. Slowly. If you need a date to change, you're avoiding something. That something might be a hard truth. A boundary, an identity shift, a conversation, accountability, and that doesn't make you weak. It makes you human. But pretending a date will fix it, that keeps people stuck. This is why I end my emails with one simple line, expect excellence. Not perfection. Not intensity, not punishment. Excellence means honesty over hype, consistency over drama, responsibility over excuses. And here's the key. Expect excellence today, not someday, because excellence isn't seasonal, it's behavioral. So instead of I'm going to work out this year, try I'm someone who moves my body. Instead of I'll eat better in January. Try I'll respect my energy. Instead of this year will be different. Try I don't negotiate with patterns that hurt me. That's how real change happens quietly, cleanly, without announcements. If New Year's resolutions have always irritated you, there's probably a reason. You might be wired for: long-term thinking, integrity over urgency, excellence over performance. And that's not a flaw. Dates don't change lives. Decisions do. If this resonated with you, this is the kind of work I do. I break down real world patterns in people, in workplaces and in leadership dynamics. So you can see what's actually happening beneath the surface. I share workplace case studies, behavioral insights, and practical clarity you can use immediately. If you know someone who needs to hear this, please share it with them, and don't worry, there's always another video coming your way. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you next time. Peace out and namaste.