The lines at the gym have been returning to normal. Fresh produce is coming back to grocery store shelves after a brief period of heightened demand. One look outside shows smokers returning to familiar haunts. Just like clockwork.

Two weeks into 2008 and those resolutions we told ourselves we were going to stick to this year are going to pot. Maybe it’s because we were caught up in the spirit of the season or maybe it was the spirits. Either way, life is returning to normal for many of us and, in a way, it’s a relief.

The first two weeks of each new year are always a stressful period for people like me. I like my routine. I enjoy going to the gym on a regular basis and eating well. Until a year and some odd months ago, I even enjoyed the occasional smoke. I don’t like disruptions to my schedule. To people like me, the idea that others set a once-a-year deadline to “resolve” to do things differently makes them nothing more than improvement tourists.

Positive changes in our lives are and should be year-round objectives. Most serious college students are keenly aware of the effort involved in self-improvement and intuitively know that offering the annual lip service of resolutions won’t cut it.

The absurdity of choosing the first day of January to begin making a major life change is not only inconvenient, it’s impractical. For example, the temperature this past weekend barely rose above freezing, rendering outdoor activity of any sort an extreme sport suitable for the X Games. The resolution you made to start running in 2008 may still be tempting to a few intrepid thrill seekers, but the prospect of freezing to death is hardly the lifestyle change most of us seek.

The pressure to break our old routines this time of year is overrated and unlikely to succeed in any lasting way. The resulting sense of failure felt by people unable to keep their lofty promises to themselves is an unneeded and unwanted byproduct of negative societal pressure. It reinforces the notion that true change has to come from within.

New Year’s has come and gone, taking with it the pressure to declare our intentions for the coming year. Think of this as your extension notice. At some point, maybe today, put some consideration into not only what goals you have but also how to achieve them. Then, keep it to yourself.

If you’re able to stay quiet about your personal goals while working toward them, it probably indicates a serious desire to accomplish those goals. It also means that rather than trying to fulfill someone else’s expectations; you do it for yourself and, in doing so, become empowered over your own life.

The life-changing decisions we make have lasting repercussions. They aren’t instant, they aren’t arrived at easily and they certainly don’t follow any sort of predictable timeline.

When we decide to make a change, it needs to be acted on in its own time. It can’t be rushed.