“Your willpower is like an emotion. Feel it.”

What are the chances that 2022 will be the same as 2021 and prepare for the horror, 2020?

Very high.

What are the chances that in 2022 you will work on yourself—mind, body, spirit?

Very high.

Am I going out on a limb and making that promise because the Law of Averages eventually catches up? Not really. My belief stems from the fact that we can will ourselves to improve our lives. Not in large, seismic steps but in credible, practical ways. And this is no self-help mumbo jumbo I am spouting; it comes backed with serious research on our psyche and the power of willpower. A stunning pointer from a 2021 international research conducted by Stanford psychologist, Carol Dweck, as published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, on ego depletion: our willpower is not a limited source. Studies show that willpower is not a finite resource and instead acts like an emotion. It ebbs and flows based on what’s happening to us and how we feel.

Like we don’t stay angry all the time, we can’t stay highly willed and motivated 24/7. So when we task ourselves to reboot, reclaim our lives we will fall off the wagon, we will fail and we will feel miserable. But that’s not to say that we won’t get back on track. In fact, by listening to our lack of willpower, we may discover ways to do the things we don’t want to do. Feel the emotion to reclaim it.

For me, personally, 2022 is not even about reclaiming life. It’s just a change in the calendar; a time to learn to write cheques with 2022 as the year instead of the previous one. A year when I will eat all the forbidden muffins but will make up the next day by balancing my meals.

And that’s what we mean by starting afresh in the New Year. It’s time to find the balance; the knowledge that nothing is in our control while knowing that it is only a moment away from our control.