By: Ariana Wiggins (’19), Staff Writer
It seems like every January, people swear upon their dedication to #NewYearNewMe and all the changes they intend to make in their life. In January, things seem to work out and progress toward these goals starts to kick off. In February, some goals are left on the backburner to focus on the more urgent ones. By the time May rolls around, many of those resolutions are completely forgotten until December when it is time to create yet another list of goals. The cycle continues. Well certainly, this is not the way anyone intends for his or her growth process to pan out. Luckily, there is a foolproof plan to work around the hindrance of New Year’s Resolution Negligence, which will help anyone who is dedicated to truly making changes in his or her life.
- Create a list. My suggestion would be 5-10 achievable goals to reach by the end of the year. Include things that are not too far fetched, but are also ambitious enough that you would be proud to say you completed them. Also create a list of sub-goals for each goal to make them easier to track. For example, if your goal is to lose a certain amount of weight, a good sub-goal would be to hit the gym four times a week.
- Write it in big letters. Not in a notebook that you never open, not in the Notes app on your phone, and not on a dry erase board that you are going to clear off the next morning. Write it somewhere that you will be able to see it everyday, and write it in BIG letters. (Your sub-goals may be too much to include in this, however. Feel free to document those in a notebook or the Notes app, but still don’t use a dry erase board that you’re going to clear off the next morning.)
- Read it on a daily basis. Remind yourself of why you do what you do. Keep the hope alive and commit to the things you want to accomplish. Practice self-encouragement and positive language, making your process more bearable and helping cultivate self-growth. These things will keep you motivated and ensure that your efforts continue throughout the year.
- Round up friends who will hold you accountable. Sometimes you’ll feel like giving up. In those cases, it is good to have friends and family who are informed of the goals you hope to reach. Let some people know what you plan to achieve, and ask them to check you every time you slip up. Then, on the day you decide you don’t want to show up to class, a supportive loved one will remind you of your dreams of making the dean’s list. It should give you the encouragement to sit through your lecture and enjoy earning those participation points.
- Award yourself and self-reflect. If you follow these tips, at the end of the year, you should have accomplished at least some of your New Year’s resolutions. Treat yourself for it (but if your goal was cutting down on candy, don’t treat yourself by eating a bag of gummy worms). For the goals that you didn’t achieve, think about why you didn’t achieve them. Were they too unrealistic, or was there something better you could have done to reach them? Note these problems, and use that as a way to better integrate those goals into your resolution for the next year.
After doing all these things, you should be a New Year’s resolution expert, a master of growth, the guru of goals. A commitment to this five-step process will get you through every year as a #NewYou.
