As we enter 2026, it’s typical that millions of people will resolve to reach new goals, change their habits, and alter their lifestyle to kick off the new year. Starting over with a “clean slate” that immediately succeeds the chaos and disorganization that many experience around the holidays is very tempting, and feels like a perfect “reset.” It’s no wonder the culture around the slogan “New Year, New Me” has become so commercialized.

I’ve been thinking a lot, though, about what it means to shift our thoughts, words and actions in alignment with a different way of living. Creating new habits and changing our existing behaviors is no small feat, and requires a significant amount of effort and personal accountability. Not only that, but the average time it takes for most individuals to form new habits based on a recent study is around two months (Singh et al., 2024). In the day and age of instant gratification, it makes me wonder how many people can stick it out if they’re not seeing results right away?

When we take into account the time and effort that habit formation and behavior change requires, I’m curious how many people possess the patience, endurance and self-compassion to see their goals through. In other words, is this something that they really want, or are they purely getting sucked into the hype surrounding “New Years Resolutions?”

Thing that sticks out to me the most about behavior change is the word change. It’s easy to discount it’s significance, but ultimately, it takes a lot of courage to seek change in ourselves and how we do things. In essence, when we change something about ourselves, we are altering our identity and our personal narratives. By nature, this is no easy feat. I seriously commend anyone who dedicates themselves to changing their behaviors, because it begs the question: how badly do you want it?

I think one of the major reasons why we see such a drop in the number of people who stick to their goals (especially around the new year) is because not everyone has the courage to change themselves, or the patience to see it through. I can’t blame them-change is intimidating, and it also takes time. It’s about taking the leap and saying “I know this is going to take a while and things will look different than what I know right now, but I’m willing to go for it anyway.” It seems like more people prefer comfort and having predictable outcomes than they do having the gumption to make the adjustments that are required of them in order to incite meaningful change.

The bottom line is: change requires that we do things differently, which means doing things that may be unfamiliar to us. This isn’t comfortable (nor is it supposed to be.)

In the coming days, I invite you to ask yourself: “Do I have the will to change?” Not only that, but I ask that you be honest with your answer. Because, if the answer is “no,” then there’s some real opportunity there for you to connect with yourself on a deeper level and do some good work.

Inner reflection and personal resolve will equip you with what you need to prepare yourself for change. Having work to do is not a bad thing. This means you are planning with intention to create space for change in your future. If you’re finding yourself here, spend some time asking yourself what really matters to you, and “why?” Once you can come clear on your core values and motivators, that’s when you’ll be able to create a clear path towards change.

In the coming weeks, I hope you find opportunities to challenge yourself and embrace what drives you forward. Remember that comfort and a resistance to change cheats us of God’s will. It is inevitable that we will stray off the Path from time to time, but as long as we possess the courage to find our way back to God (and to ourselves,) we will never stay the same.