Pssst, hey, it's January 7th. You know what that means, right?

Your gym has gone from "sweaty rush hour" back to "Whoa, I can actually find a treadmill?" status. That meal prep container set you bought on December 28th? Still in the Amazon box. And that promise you made to yourself on New Year's Eve about finally making a change?

Yeah, about that.

Here's the thing nobody tells you: Your resolution isn't the problem. The problem is that you're trying to fix your life like you're updating your phone—one giant download that'll magically transform everything overnight.

Spoiler alert: It doesn't work that way.

The Scroll Hole vs. The Soul Hole

Let me ask you something. In the past week, how many hours have you spent:

• Scrolling through Instagram comparing your life to highlight reels?

• Watching TikToks about "that girl morning routines" while lying in bed at 10 AM?

• Reading articles with titles like "10 Habits That Will Change Your Life" while your own life sits there like a neglected dustbunny in the corner?

I'll wait.

According to recent data, the average American spends over 2 hours per day on social media. That's 730 hours per year—or roughly 30 full days—of scrolling. Think about that. You could learn to fly a plane in less time than that. (I should know—I did it at 15, and trust me, if teenage Tyler could figure out instrument panels, you can figure out your own life.)

But here's what's really going on: We're scrolling because we're avoiding the discomfort of looking at what actually needs to shift.

As Brené Brown puts it: "We can choose courage or we can choose comfort, but we can't have both. Not at the same time." And let me tell you, that "one more scroll" is choosing comfort every single time.

Why Your Resolution Failed (And Why That's Actually Good News)

Remember that resolution you made? Let's say it was something like:

• "I'm going to work out 5 days a week!"

• "I'm going to eat clean!"

• "I'm going to wake up at 5 AM!"

• "I'm going to find my purpose!"

Heavy, isn’t it?

Here's what happened: You tried to take a gigantic leap from the center of your comfort zone to somewhere way out there on the horizon. And what does physics tell us about big leaps? (Insert my terrible "Newt" joke here—Isaac Newton would have been a great amphibian scientist... I'll see myself out.)

You bounced right back to the middle.

It's not because you lack willpower. It's not because you're not disciplined enough. It's because you didn't respect the fine line between "I'm challenging myself" and "I'm setting myself up to feel like a failure by January 8th."

Think about it this way: When I learned to fly, I didn't show up at the airport and say, "Okay, hand me the keys to a 747, I'm ready to go!" I started with a Piper Tomahawk, learned to taxi before I could fly, and took baby steps. And even then, I spent WEEKS finding excuses not to take my check ride because I was scared shiftless. (P.S. pay attention to this paragraph and try and see how it correlates to You’re the Shift)

Your failed resolution? That's your wrong turn. And wrong turns, my friends, are where the real shift happens.

What Your Resolution is Really Trying to Tell You

Throughout You're the Shift, I talk about this thing I call the "mosquito buzz." It's that little voice—that persistent, sometimes annoying, hovering presence—that keeps telling you: "There's something bigger for you."

Your resolution wasn't actually about the gym membership, the meal prep, or the 5 AM alarm. Those were just your brain's way of trying to swat at the mosquito instead of listening to what it's actually saying.

The buzz is telling you something's off. Maybe it's:

• The Sunday night dread that starts around 3 PM

• The feeling that you're running in circles but not moving forward

• The continual worry about doing something before you end up feeling it’s too late to take it on

• The "is this it?" question that pops up when you're trying to fall asleep

Your resolution failed because you were treating a symptom rather than listening to the diagnosis.

The Mainstream Noise Problem

Want to know what makes this worse? Every January, we're bombarded with:

• "New Year, New You!" (Spoiler: You're not a smartphone, you don't need to update to version 17.5)

• "Crush Your Goals!" (What if my goals don't want to be crushed? What if they want to be gently guided?)

• "No Excuses!" (Except, you know, all the legitimate reasons why giant leaps are terrifying)

The self-help industry is worth $11 billion. BILLION. With a B. And yet, studies show that 80% of New Year's resolutions fail by February.

Why? Because we're being sold giant leaps when what we actually need are small shifts.

As James Clear writes in Atomic Habits: "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." But I'd take it one step further: You fall to the level of your comfort with being uncomfortable.

The Small Shift Secret

Here's what I learned from all my wrong turns (and trust me, there were plenty):

It's not about the leap. It's about leading the dance with the edge of your comfort zone.

Let me break this down with a little math (don't worry, I promise it's not as painful as high school algebra):

Acceptance (of uncertainty) + Victor Decision = More Opportunities

Here's what that means:

1. Accept the uncertainty: Your resolution failed. Okay. That happened. Own it. (Upper ladder thinking, baby!)

2. Make a victor decision: Instead of wallowing or scrolling, ask "What's one TINY thing I can do differently?"

3. Create more opportunities: That tiny shift opens the door to the next tiny shift, and suddenly you're actually moving.

When I finally got back in a plane after 29 years (yes, 10,900 days, but who's counting?), I didn't start by saying "I'm going to get my commercial license!" I started with: "I'm going to complete my medical exam." Then: "I'm going to book one flight with an instructor." Then: "I'm going to do my biennial review."

Small shifts. Not giant leaps.

Your Turn: The Un-Resolution Exercise

Okay, time to get your shift together. Grab a piece of paper (or open your Notes app—I won't judge) and answer these:

1. What was your resolution? Write it down.

2. What's the mosquito buzz underneath it? Not the surface-level goal, but what's it really telling you?

   • Example: "Work out 5 days a week" → Buzz: "I want to feel alive in my body again" or "I'm tired of being tired"

3. What's ONE shift—one tiny, uncomfortable-but-doable thing—you can do THIS WEEK?

   • Not "transform my entire life"

   • Not "become a different person"

   • Just ONE shift at the edge of your comfort zone

4. Name your victor decision: How will you own this shift instead of waiting and hoping?

   • "I will put my gym shoes by the front door"

   • "I will walk 10 minutes on Tuesday"

   • "I will eat one vegetable with dinner tonight"

See? Much less dramatic than "NEW YEAR NEW ME" but way more likely to actually stick.

The Wrong Turn That's Actually Right

Here's the beautiful paradox: Your failed resolution is actually a gift.

It's showing you that the path you thought you needed to take isn't the right one. It's a wrong turn. And wrong turns—when you stop, look around, and choose to see them as opportunities instead of failures—are where growth actually happens.

And NO growth happens if you bounce back to your comfort zone the moment things don't go according to plan.

So yeah, your resolution failed. But maybe—just maybe—that failure is your wrong turn leading to something better.

What Now?

Look, I get it. This whole "small shifts" thing may sound less flashy than “TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE IN 30 DAYS!" But you know what? The 30-day transformation people are the same ones selling you the next 30-day transformation when that one doesn't stick. They’re making tons of cash off of a flavor-of-the-month approach.

You're the Shift isn't about becoming a different person. It's about waking up to who you already are and learning to lead your own dance with discomfort instead of letting it lead you.

It's about:

• Finding YOUR pivotal experiences and learning from them

• Turning fear into opportunity (not pretending fear doesn't exist)

• Making wrong turns go right

• Getting out of your own way

And it starts with this: Stop scrolling. Start shifting.

The book drops soon, and I can't wait to walk you through the exact process I used to go from "Sunday night dread" to "I haven't felt this alive in years." From pushing past the edge of my comfort zone to get back in a plane after 29 years to pitching FamliCare at Walleye Tank to writing this very book.

But until then? Pick ONE shift. Just one. And see where that wrong turn takes you.

Because here's what I've learned: The best shift you'll ever make is the one that starts right where you are.

And hey, if you want to be the first to know when You're the Shift launches, sign up at www.tylerjwirth.com

P.S. Why did the New Year's resolution break up with January? Because it found itself stuck in a rut and decided February was looking like a fresh start. (Too soon? Yeah, probably too soon.)