There's something about January that makes us all lose our minds a little bit. We convince ourselves that this is THE month. The fresh start. The clean slate. The moment when everything changes. So we create these elaborate plans. We set impossible standards. We try to overhaul our entire lives all at once while still, you know, living our actual lives. And then reality hits.

Let me be clear about something right up front. The number changing from 2025 to 2026 doesn't magically transform anything. January 1st is just another day. The sun will come up the same way it did on December 31st. You'll wake up as the same person with the same life and the same challenges. The calendar switching doesn't create a fresh start. YOU create the fresh start. The calendar just gives us the kick in the pants to do it.

It's the last Monday of the year, and if you're on social media at all, you've seen them. The posts about New Year's resolutions. The ambitious lists. The grand declarations of transformation.