The StoWicks Conversations
by
Carolyn and Seth Wicks
Today's Key Points:
- Action Is The Magic
- Your Identity Is Built Every Day
- Readiness Is a Myth
Carolyn: I think we’ve all convinced ourselves at some point that January 1 is going to be the day we magically become a different person. New habits, new routines, and new discipline, all starting because it's a new year. Don't get me wrong, I love a fresh start...but let's be real, nothing changes just because the year does. Waiting for a new year to start a goal makes you feel productive, but it’s actually just procrastination in disguise. The only thing that creates real momentum is action. Small, imperfect, and unglamorous action, taken on a random Monday in December when no one’s watching. And if you’re reading this, that means you’re already thinking about change...so why not start now?
Seth: The holidays are a deceiving time. It’s easy to make resolutions for the new year while completely falling off the rails in December. Eating and drinking more, exercising less, binge-watching TV, sleep cycle all over the place. And we tell ourselves it doesn’t count because “January is coming.”
But one thing we’ve talked about often is this: identity forms through action. Every choice you make is a vote for the kind of person you are becoming. So if you spend all of December avoiding discipline and delaying effort, you’re not preparing for a new identity, you’re training the old one.
Waiting until January 1 doesn’t pause identity formation. It reinforces it. You’re practicing being someone who procrastinates, who needs a reset, who only shows up when conditions are perfect. That doesn’t make much logical sense, does it?
Yes, rest is important and recovery matters. But taking an entire month off because it’s “the holidays” isn’t rest, it's laziness. If you want to reshape your identity, you don’t wait for some random date on the calendar. You take action today and become the person who doesn’t need January to start.
Carolyn: Time for a little self-awareness. Ask yourself honestly: why are you waiting? Does January 1st feel safer? There’s a certain relief in telling yourself that you can coast through the holidays because you have a “fresh start” coming. It feels like a legitimate excuse, a way to delay the pressure of starting, avoid the discomfort of change, and not confront the fact that real progress usually takes longer than we want it to. Hiding behind a January 1st start date gives us emotional cover.
But underneath that delay is fear. Fear of failing again, fear of being inconsistent, fear of trying and realizing you’re not “ready.” Waiting feels safe because it postpones the moment you have to confront who you are versus who you want to be.
The problem is, waiting until you feel ready is the trap. Readiness isn’t something you magically wake up with, it’s something you build by taking action before you’re comfortable. And there’s real psychology behind this: your brain is wired to conserve energy, which means it will always prefer familiar routines over new, unfamiliar effort. That’s why change feels heavy in your mind but becomes surprisingly light once you make your first move.
So start today. Start small. Start messy. It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be movement. Even the tiniest action you take today begins the identity shift you’ve been waiting for.
Seth: Right now, I feel like I'm actually trying to get everything done before the new year. It may help that we are expecting our first child in February, but I'm in overdrive trying to get everything in order now and not later. I don't have the luxury of taking a few weeks off.
So enough waiting. January isn’t coming to save you and neither is motivation. The only thing that changes your life is what you do when it’s inconvenient and no one’s watching.
Every single day you delay is another day you'll end up regretting. Don't delay, don't wait. If you want to be a different person, act like one. Today, not January 1st.
Carolyn: January goals are usually unrealistic and fueled by guilt, whereas small actions in December create confidence and momentum. Remember: You don’t need a 30-item plan, you need one small action.
Seth: Physical health is more important than anything. Without it, nothing else matters. Walk at least 10K steps every single day this week. You have the time.
Both: Your future isn’t built on January 1st, it’s built on what you do in the next 24 hours. Reply to this email and tell us the one small action you’re starting today.
See you next week,
Carolyn & Seth
The StoWicks
Quote of the Week:
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."
Arthur Ashe
