Unfortunately and without fail, these Lifestyle Police leave out the most important step to a successful self-improvement program: the correct "start." To launch a successful "New You" — be it by losing weight, gaining muscle mass, joining a gym or improving in a sport — you need to do it gradually and patiently.

Far too often, when Jan. 1 rolls around, people jump on the self-help bandwagon and make radical changes to their lifestyle in deference to self-improvement, only to shock themselves into a regimen that they can neither stick to nor enjoy. Inevitably, they drift back to their old ways and habits, regaining the few pounds they lost initially and letting the new gym membership expire.

So how do you make a New Year’s resolution seem fresh and inspirational a few months later?

By starting it now!

This is absolutely the best time of year to get going on your list of commitments, and here’s why.

1. You have a few weeks to 'ease' into it before Jan. 1

To notice any improvements — weight loss, conditioning, or weight training — you need at least six weeks to see any signs of significant change. If you start your resolution Jan. 1, that puts you at Valentine’s Day for the first signs of success (assuming all goes as planned and you are getting the results you anticipate). Wouldn’t you rather start noticing improvements by the start of the New Year instead of a month and a half into it? You’d already be ahead of the game, or at least hitting your stride, while everyone else was just starting to talk about making a change.

2. A resolution started now is not as pressured as one begun Jan. 1

With the peer pressure of office co-workers and training partners making sudden commitments and egging you on to do the same, keeping a New Year’s Resolution come Jan. 1 is not only difficult, but can be intimidating and scary.

By getting a head start, you can take it easy and afford to slip up and miss a few workouts, or have an extra dessert. If you fall off your resolution “wagon” in the early stages (the toughest part of any program is the beginning), you are not doing it in the spotlight — and there is no perceived “failure,” public or personal. In fact, you can even rationalize it as “not counting” because you’re not officially at Jan. 1 yet!

By taking a relaxed approach to your resolution, and even allowing yourself the occasional slip-up, you will acclimate yourself to your new lifestyle in stages, avoiding “Resolution Culture Shock” — which can send people right back to the habits from where they started.

3. Rome was not built in a day

If your resolution involves completing your first triathlon, or learning how to swim, it will take more than you anticipate to achieve your goals. Take all the time you can get, and that means NOW. Plain and simple, just begin your commitments — sign up for those swim lessons you want, buy those running shoes and break them in just in time for Jan. 1, or join the gym (before everyone else does in six weeks and it’s too crowded to find free machines you like).

Also, by pacing yourself, you will avoid injury and not overdo it. Your goal is to be running 6 miles a day, three times a week? Start running a mile today and increase your distance by an additional mile each week. You will be at your goal in January and you can already begin planning for that marathon that seemed impossible last summer!

4. You have time to work out the kinks

Often, a resolution is started with plenty of enthusiasm and goal-setting, only to be met with harsh reality. The one-hour daily workout you planned on doing has suddenly been challenged by the kids’ soccer-practice carpool. The early-morning trips to the gym have been replaced with a new office project that requires you to be on a conference call at 7 a.m. By starting a program now, on the eve of the busiest time of the year (holidays, followed by taxes), you can gauge what your worst schedule might be like and plan for unexpected monkey wrenches.

Guaranteed, the holidays will pull you in many different directions, but you can test your resolution mettle and see how you react to a threat to your schedule. Maybe you’ll decide your commitments are unrealistic and you need to scale back your daily workout goals to only five times a week. Perhaps instead of an hour of exercise each day, your schedule would better accommodate two hours of training every other day. By Jan. 1 you can have a plan in place and a reserve of alternative ideas to achieve your goals.

5. With momentum, you can set more than just one resolution

Suppose your goal was to lose 10kg's next year. You start a diet now with a moderate exercise schedule and find that come Jan. 1 you have lost half the weight already. You feel renewed, healthy, and energetic. Why stop at losing the weight? If you continue on your path you will have achieved your goal of shedding 10kg's by February. Perhaps for the remainder of the year you want to set an athletic goal of completing a 5K swim, or competing in a half-Ironman, or attempting a marathon. Whatever you choose to do, you can be sure that a substantial — though keep in mind, gradual — lifestyle change will keep those kg's lost off your frame for good.

This may be the most important part of your resolution: the longevity of your commitment. By setting incremental goals in your overall plan, you can make gradual self-improvements that result in better daily habits that will lengthen and strengthen your life.

With results like that, why would anyone want to wait until Jan. 1 to begin?