How Change Actually Happens

It’s New Year’s Eve here in Oz, which naturally gets people thinking about New Year’s resolutions.

It makes sense that we pick a date to change.

If we believe change comes from effort and willpower, then choosing a fresh start on the calendar feels logical. New year. New slate. New resolve.

And for a while, it can feel hopeful.

But real change doesn’t happen because we decide hard enough or pick the right moment. It happens when something shifts in how we see things.

That kind of change doesn’t wait for January.

It can happen on any ordinary day.

Most New Year’s resolutions are aimed at behaviour. They assume that if we apply enough pressure — enough structure, discipline, motivation — we’ll become different people.

But pressure doesn’t create transformation. It creates strain.

That’s why resolutions so often fall away. People often attribute this to a lack of commitment. But effort alone can’t sustain what understanding hasn’t caught up with.

Insight works differently.

When you see something new about how your mind works, behaviour changes naturally. No fireworks. No angels singing. Just a quiet oh… that’s what’s been going on.

You don’t have to push yourself forward. Change unfolds because something makes sense in a way it didn’t before.

This is why lasting change doesn’t need a start date. It doesn’t require rules or vows or declarations. It comes from seeing how experience is being created from the inside out.

As that understanding deepens, habits fall away. Decisions become easy. You find yourself doing things differently without trying to.

From the outside, it can look vague. Unmeasurable. Possibly a bit woo.

From the inside, it feels obvious.

So if you’ve ever felt discouraged by resolutions that didn’t last, there’s nothing wrong with you. You were just using effort to do the job of insight.

And insight doesn’t care what day it is.

It shows up when it’s ready — and when it does, change follows.