Try This On For Size.

Every woman has them. The skinny jeans, lurking on the highest shelf in the back of the closet. By skinny, I am not so much referring to fit (though it may also apply) but to the shape required to get back into them. Instead of accepting the present state of things, not to mention the continuously growing span of time since she has actually worn the jeans, they are retained as a reminder of the size she once was, upheld as proof of the glorious skinny days that will surely return.
I've seen this approach reflected in resolutions, too. As the New Year tiptoes closer (she really crept up on me this time), many people are bemoaning what didn't happen for them in 2012 and resolving to achieve it in 2013. Which has been ongoing for years, and pretty much means they are ringing in 2009 several times in a row. These are the same ones, as you can imagine, who turn 29 two or three (or four) times before they acknowledge that they are indeed in their thirties.
Look, I'm not saying that anyone should give up on a long-term goal if it doesn't happen in one year. Those kinds of objectives should feel like school; it may take several years, but there are clear markers along the way that prove progress is happening. Rather, I am gently suggesting that perhaps it's time to admit that the goal hasn't fit for awhile. Take my ex, for example, who is a brilliant photographer in his free time. Every New Year, he declared that he would take one picture each day for the entire year. And it never happened. He was still doing photography, sure, but not by the rigid standards he had set for himself. Finally, he realized that his priorities had shifted, and that he was sucking the joy out of his own hobby, and he let the resolution go.
Here's a question to ask yourself before 2012 runs out: What did you miss out on this year while you let one thing define your life? Because here is the absolute truth: Your life was not on hold while you waited for it to happen. Time marches on. Face facts with courage and accept what life wants to give you right now. Whether you went up a size or you have to size things up, it's time to let go of the old and bring in the new.