Let’s be honest, a lot of us have just said @$#% to our new year’s resolutions. We do this every year and we just don’t understand why can’t get it right on the first day of the year. I mean you were supposed to lose that 10lbs by the end of 24 hours! But let’s get a dose of reality, these resolutions are not resolutions at all, but goals for 365 days. And as I thought about this, I proceeded to got rid of the idea of these being resolutions as well as the idea they need to be accomplished on the first day and started turning them into goals that are accomplishable throughout a year. At the beginning of the year, I didn’t want to write down any because I thought to myself it was pointless. However, I gave in and started writing them down as my dog looked up at me with pity. I didn’t tell anybody what they were, I didn’t parade around my house with them, I simply hung them up on my fridge where I could see them every day. And something amazing happened, opportunities to these goals started to arise in expected ways because I felt I accomplished these qualities:
1. Unachievable
Don’t make your resolution so farfetched that it is out of reach such as “I want to be a cartoon unicorn living in American society.” Dream big but make it reasonable and achievable. I did this by instead of saying “I want to go to New York” I made my resolution “I want to go somewhere new this year.” In doing this, I gave myself so many more achievable alternatives that I could accomplish. And if you want to make an unachievable goals you might achieve goals you never thought you could.
2. Don’t Tell Everyone
Don’t tell everyone your resolutions because then they give you praise that makes you feel like you have already accomplished it when you haven’t. Praise and encouragement are wonderful but at the same time, they lead you to become laxer in achieving your goals because you already received the good feelings. Instead try writing them down and placing them in a spot you frequently look at, like your bathroom mirror or a sticky note on your computer screen!
3. Change
Don’t be afraid to modify and even change your resolutions to fit obstacles and changes in your life. These resolutions are for you and sometimes you need to do what it takes to accomplish them. And, you can modify your resolutions to be small and plentiful or large and few. This means you could have 10 resolutions this year that are challenging or 20 that are still challenging but they are small.
4. Socialize
This sounds odd for achieving a resolution but it is vital. You need to get out and meet new people with different interests. You will find that the more connections you make with others the more opportunities will open up for you. For example, if you meet people who are relaxed but also love working out, you just make new friends to hit the gym with that will encourage you to be more “fit,” without damaging your self-esteem. Or you meet people who are adventurous and love to be spontaneous, you just fulfilled your resolution to go somewhere new or try something wild.
5. Little Triumphs
Find little accomplishments in your resolutions. This helps with feeling good and driving you forward. An example could be you would like to lose 10lbs this year, you could take pride in the fact you stopped drinking 4 sodas a day and now only drink 2. These small triumphs need to be recognized by yourself because they only help you push forward. If it felt good doing this, then imagine what the larger outcome will feel like.
6. One Way Or Another
Don’t be too passive about your resolutions and don’t be too involved to the point you’re killing yourself over them. These resolutions shouldn’t be making you miserable in the effort to accomplish them and they shouldn’t be too easy that you don’t even try. Try small steps in accomplishing them every day but also, take a break and let yourself indulge.
7. Not Right Away
Don’t get discouraged if your resolutions don’t get accomplished right away or even at all. The thing that counts is that it is making you think about yourself and the things you want to accomplish in your life.
8. Accomplished
Once you accomplished your goal, your resolution, don’t just stop. Once you accomplish something all of the sudden you realize you have no clue what to do next and that’s what causes people to panic. Don’t. Simply add another small goal to the one you already accomplished. In my case, I achieved my goal of “going somewhere new” and achieved it by going to New York City. I now have added to that goal by replacing “going somewhere new” to “going somewhere new within my state or city”. Therefore, I accomplished my main resolution but now have smaller ones that I can get while also working towards my other 9 resolutions.
I accomplished one of my resolutions because I simply talked to another person and they gave me an opportunity to travel. I never expected it and I never expected it to be the exact place I wanted to go this year. To all collegiette’s who are struggling with their resolutions, it’s okay! It’s only the beginning of the year and you have so many opportunities waiting for you to uncover.