Blog

Every January, I watch the same pattern unfold, for myself and those I work with in clinic. We set ambitious resolutions, lose 30 pounds, go to the gym five days a week, completely overhaul their diet (Whole 30 anyone?), quit sugar. We attack these goals with a sincere, fierce determination, fueled by the cultural pressure to become a “new you” the moment the calendar flips to January 1st.

By February? Most of those resolutions have quietly dissolved.  

After years of studying and practicing Chinese medicine, embracing the deep wisdom that is buried in the philosophy behind the medicine, I have found the problem isn’t a lack of willpower or discipline. The problem is timing, and our fundamental misunderstanding of how sustainable change actually works.

Winter Is Not the Season for Action

In Chinese medicine, winter corresponds to the Kidney system, which we think of as your body’s battery, your deepest reserves of energy and vitality. Winter is the season of storage, conservation, and deep rest. Nature knows this. Trees draw their sap inward. Bears hibernate. Seeds rest in frozen ground, gathering strength for spring.

Your body wants to do the same thing. You’re not lazy for wanting to sleep more in January, you’re responding to nature’s rhythm. Winter is when we’re meant to restore our Kidney energy, not deplete it further by forcing dramatic changes that require enormous amounts of willpower and physical energy.

When we set aggressive New Year’s resolutions, we’re essentially asking our battery to power a massive surge of change at the exact moment it most needs to recharge. No wonder we fizzle out. And then add a bit of shame and disappointment to the mix, and our battery levels get even lower. 

Discipline vs. Creating Space

There’s a crucial difference between resolutions driven by discipline and intentions that create space for growth.

Resolutions often come from a place of “should”, I should lose weight, I should exercise more, I should eat better. They’re about forcing yourself into a mold through sheer willpower and self-control. It’s exhausting, and it rarely lasts because it’s not sustainable. You’re white-knuckling your way through change.

Intentions, on the other hand, are about creating the conditions for your next best iteration of growth. They’re about asking: What does my body, mind, and spirit actually need right now? What small shifts would create space for me to naturally evolve into who I’m becoming?

This isn’t about lowering the bar, it’s about understanding how real, lasting transformation actually happens. It happens when we work with our nature, not against it.

What Winter Is Actually For

Winter is for reflection. For gathering yourself. For asking the deeper questions:

• What worked this past year? What didn’t?
• What do I want to carry forward? What am I ready to release?
• What seeds do I want to plant for spring?
• What does my body truly need right now?

This is the season to nurture your reserves, not drain them. To rest deeply, to eat nourishing foods, to move gently rather than intensely. To dream and envision without the pressure to act immediately.

Think of winter as the preparation phase. You’re not doing nothing, you’re doing the essential inner work that makes spring’s growth possible.

A Different Approach to January

Instead of January resolutions, what if you set winter intentions that honor where you actually are?

Instead of: “I will go to the gym five days a week starting January 1st” Try: “I will listen to what my body needs and move in ways that feel nourishing this winter”

Instead of: “I will follow a strict diet and lose 30 pounds” Try: “I will add more warming, nourishing foods that support my energy this season”

Instead of: “I will completely overhaul my life” Try: “I will notice what small shifts would create more space for the person I’m becoming”

Notice the difference? One approach depletes your battery with force and discipline. The other creates conditions for sustainable change by honoring your natural rhythms.

Trust the Cycle

Spring will come. That’s when your energy naturally begins to rise, when your body wants to move more, when new growth happens effortlessly rather than through force. The energy and desire for change you’re trying to manufacture in January will arrive on its own in March and April, if you rest and restore now.

Your next best iteration isn’t found through punishment and discipline. It emerges when you create the space, do the inner work, and trust that sustainable change happens in alignment with natural cycles, not against them.

So this January, give yourself permission to rest. To reflect. To plant seeds without demanding they sprout in frozen ground. Your resolutions can wait. Your intentions, and your Kidney energy, will thank you.

If you are interested in learning self-care and acupressure to help during this dark season read our blog Acupressure for Winter Blues here.

 

Julie