Not A New Year’s Resolution

Why Your January Resolutions Fail (And Why That’s Perfectly Natural)

You know that familiar feeling. It’s January 2nd, you’re already behind on your resolutions, the gym membership card feels heavy with guilt in your wallet, and that vision board you made on New Year’s Day is quietly mocking you from the corner of your bedroom.

Here’s something that might surprise you:  you’re not failing. You’re just working against your body’s natural rhythm.

The Truth About New Year’s Day

Our modern New Year—January 1st—is essentially a Roman invention. It’s an arbitrary date created by humans for administrative convenience. But here’s what the Romans, and many ancient cultures, actually understood: the *true* new year begins in spring.

In astrology, the year starts on the Spring Equinox (around March 20th) when the sun enters Aries—the very first sign of the zodiac. This isn’t just cosmic symbolism; it’s deeply connected to the natural world and, consequently, to our own bodies.

Think about it: nature doesn’t burst into life in January. Seeds don’t suddenly sprout in frozen ground. Trees don’t leaf in the dead of winter. So why do we expect ourselves to?

Your Body Is Still Hibernating

While humans don’t technically hibernate, our bodies absolutely slow down during winter months. Research shows that during winter we experience:

- Slower metabolism (hello, winter weight gain)

- Reduced energy levels due to decreased sunlight and melatonin production

- Lower mood and motivation (in extreme cases, this manifests as Seasonal Affective Disorder)

- A natural inclination toward rest and conservation of energy

Animals that hibernate reduce their metabolism to conserve energy when food and light are scarce. They’re responding to shortened daylight and colder temperatures—the exact conditions we’re experiencing in January when we’re trying to launch ambitious new habits.

We’re essentially asking our bodies to spring into action when every biological signal is telling us to conserve, rest, and preserve energy.

The Spring Awakening

Then something magical happens around March and April. The sun emerges properly. Days lengthen noticeably. Nature explodes into action. And suddenly, that workout routine that felt impossible in January starts to feel… doable.

Our bodies naturally begin to wake up in spring—getting out of bed becomes easier because mornings are brighter, and those resolutions that seemed impossible in January might seem more achievable after finally seeing the sun .

The Spring Equinox marks nature’s genuine new beginning. It’s when light finally prevails over darkness in equal measure before tipping into abundance. This is when:

- Energy naturally increases

- Motivation returns organically

- The desire for movement and growth resurfaces

- Creative inspiration flows more freely

- Our bodies and minds align with action and renewal

In astrological terms, the Spring Equinox represents the beginning of the solar new year, symbolizing the gestation of life and new beginnings with an energy of infancy and fresh starts .

The Guilt Trap

Here’s where it gets damaging: when we fail at our January resolutions (and statistics show most of us do), we spend February and March feeling like failures. We carry guilt, shame, and disappointment about not having the willpower or discipline to follow through.

But you weren’t lacking willpower. You were swimming upstream against your own biology.

By the time your body naturally wants to start fresh in spring, you’re already defeated, convinced you can’t stick to anything, and have given up entirely on goals that might have thrived if planted in the right season.

Liberation Through Alignment

What if, instead of forcing yourself into false starts every January, you worked *with* your natural cycles?

In Winter (December-February):

- Rest intentionally without guilt

- Reflect on what you want to release

- Dream and plan without pressure to act

- Nourish yourself with warming, seasonal foods

- Honour your need for more sleep and quiet

- Journal, meditate, and go inward

In Spring (March-May):

- Set intentions that feel exciting, not obligatory

- Start new practices when your body has energy to support them

- Take action on those dreams you incubated over winter

- Move your body in ways that feel joyful

- Plant seeds (literally and metaphorically)

Practical Tips for Spring Resolutions

1. Wait for the Equinox

Rather than January 1st, use the Spring Equinox (around March 20th) as your annual reset point. This is when the cosmic calendar resets to the first zodiac sign, Aries season, offering a powerful opportunity for realignment with goals and a chance to start anew .

2. Keep It Simple

Spring energy is passionate but can be scattered. Choose one or two meaningful changes rather than a complete life overhaul.

3. Connect with Nature

Spend at least ten minutes a day in the sun, especially in the morning to help with sleep patterns—sunlight acts like a battery for the human body, telling you to wake up and providing energy for the day while also helping mood levels .

4. Honour Your Winter Needs

In January and February, focus on basic self-care: adequate sleep, nourishing food, gentle movement, and emotional processing. You’re not being lazy; you’re being seasonal.

5. Use Winter for Planning

This is the perfect time for vision boards, research, and strategizing. You’re not procrastinating—you’re in the natural planning phase before spring planting.

6. Notice Your Natural Rhythms

Pay attention to when your energy genuinely increases. For most people, this happens in March. That’s your cue.

**You Are Not Broken**

If you’ve struggled with New Year’s resolutions, you’re not undisciplined. You’re not weak-willed. You’re not a failure.

You’re a human being trying to force growth in winter.

The wisest farmers know you can’t rush the seasons. You can’t plant tomatoes in January and expect them to thrive just because the calendar turned over.

So give yourself permission to hibernate. To rest. To be dormant.

And when spring comes—when the light genuinely returns and nature shows you it’s time—then plant your seeds.

The new year isn’t in January, nature says it's spring.

That said...

Your Body Knows Best

The truth is, your personal new beginning might be:

- After you’ve finished a major project and finally have space to breathe

- When a relationship ends and you’re ready to rebuild

- In September, when the academic year starts and something in you responds to that rhythm

- On a random Tuesday in May when something just clicks

Change happens when your nervous system feels safe enough to release the old pattern. When your body has the energy to support something new. When circumstances align with your capacity.

Rest & Rite exists for those moments when you *are* ready. Whether that’s January or June. Whether you need to shed like the Snake or charge forward like the Horse. The practices remain: breathwork to regulate your nervous system, massage to release what’s held in your tissues, journaling to make sense of the transition.