When the ball drops I never shout or post, “New Year, New Me,” because I know I’m still going to be the same doofus from 11:59 p.m. once 12:00 a.m. hits. Yet, after the turn of the calendar year, there always comes a sudden wave of new joggers, weightlifters, dieters and habit breakers sweeping the streets and invading our personal lives. However, sooner or later the waves die down and tides begin to turn merely weeks into the new year. All of these groups begin to settle back into their past year blues and this cycle seems to have been going on for centuries.

The hard truth is that most people never keep up with their resolutions. In fact, statistics say that at least 90% of people don’t actually hold to their resolutions. We use the new year as an excuse to change things, as if a change of calendars will suddenly cause us to be more motivated to get things accomplished.

Instead of expecting myself to get things right instantly after the new year, I wear a colored bracelet all year, and use it as a daily reminder of certain things I’d like to improve on long term. I keep a collection of the bracelets I’ve had over the years in a box so that I can look back on my growth every year.

It lessens the pressure and it’s been a helpful tool over the years that helps remind me not to procrastinate on my homework, which I’m not perfect at still, but I’ve gotten better. I’ve even used it to help remind me to keep pushing through things when I’m tired or frustrated, or to chill out when I stress out about the impending doom that is growing-up.

I understand that I’m just like every other person on earth, I’m not perfect. So anytime I try to change a habit or stick to a certain plan it’ll take me a lot of tries to actually get it right and for me to be satisfied. Improvement shouldn’t be something dictated by some dumb piece of paper with some dates on it. Frankly, it should be a constant thing to be worked on over time.