January Lies.

Every year, I fall for it.

I look forward to that release from the holiday hustle and the opportunity to get my routine back. I want to take advantage of the simplicity and use the free time to renew my interests in taking care of myself.

And then January comes and January hits. And she hits hard.

Colds, flu, COVID, unresolved family drama from the holidays, December birthdays that were rescheduled so they didn't compete with Christmas, the guilt and panic from the holiday shopping, the lack of sunshine...

All of it. It feels like it robs that motivation to reset and I'm put right back into the hampster wheel.

And every year after it hits, that's when I remember, "aahhh but yes, I wasn't being realistic afterall."

We all, to some extent, do this.

The image generator had a rushed January like I did... what even is "Jainuary"??

Why motivation drops

It's not a character flaw. It's the excitement to move on from all of the baking and last minute shopping and reclaim the time that rejuvenates our brains. Motivation is novelty driven. We become anxious to move on to the next thing because it's not the current thing that is weighing us down. The hope in a dopamine rush, that reward when you feel like you've treated yourself, finally!

And the timing for our motivation to feel as if it's dwindling is synced perfectly with when the realities of our routine kick back in. We front load our efforts with habits that need 21 days to build and when we're tired, school is starting back, extracurricular activities create scheduling conflicts, and our motivation is overshadowed.

It's not lost, though. It's just us, putting our other priorities ahead of ourselves. Because that's human nature.

What January actually reveals

I feel like I can breathe again in February. This is the month where I feel like normalcy really returns, at least for me. Routines are back in full swing and anxiety drops. I've had a chance to look back at January and evaluate, review what went right and what could have been better.

In hindsight, it's all in how we set that resolution.

I remember one year, I said I was going to give up eating chips. One small thing I could do for a healthier me.

It was so easy. Everyday, I just had to say no.

Sure I had moments of weakness where that dorito looked really delicious. But my motivation was strong and not distracted.

Meanwhile, the year that I resolved to write a daily piece of gratitude for my husband? That didn't make it past the start of school because I would only remember when I was in the middle of something else. Sorry, honey! Heart you!!

February is the time of honesty, to see where we were too ambitious, expected perfection, and which one of those tiny little habits survived quietly. This is valuable data, real information. It's not judgement or looking for failure. It's evaluating the lessons and adjusting.

Consistenty is not Intensity

I can't preach enough about having healthy habits that work for you.

Sustainable habits are the flexible habits. The ones that allow us to be the class mom or the full time mom and the healthy mom. It's adapting habits that are the size of what can fit in our lives right now. Not the future self we are working to be.

Consistently showing up with the small habits (drinking that glass of water before the coffee, doing that five minutes of yoga, or scheduling that 10 minutes of quiet, uninterrupted reading) is where the growth happens. The consistent growth is how we become the future self we are choosing to be.

And what's really cool about all of this is that as we grow and blossom, we may be blooming into something even better than the future self we dreamed of.

February is work time

Now that we are back in the, dare I say... mundane, it's time to repeat what we started and do it better.

We've learned and hopefully in our honesty, we've accepted that adjustments are meet and right. We've acknowledged where the distractions were and can now put that motivation back in the spotlight, brighter and better.

And with a much less crowded gym, at that!

You didn't lose your motivation.

You didn't fail.

You had growth.

Nuture that.

About the Author

Stephanie Pilkinton, RN, MSN, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC

Founder of Sweet Tea & Science | Nurse Practitioner | Writer | Wellness Advocate

Stephanie is a dual-certified nurse practitioner with a passion for blending evidence-based medicine with everyday life. She believes wellness should feel approachable, not overwhelming — and that a little Southern comfort and curiosity go a long way.

Follow her journey and join the conversation at Sweet Tea & Science.