With the holiday season comes immense portions of buttery mashed potatoes, creamy mac-and-cheese, ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies, and hitting up as many of the hometown restaurants as you can before it’s time to go back to school. However, when January 1 hits, the line to the closest Sweetgreen is suddenly flooding out the door and the row of treadmills at the gym are in constant rotation with one person after the next hopping on.
While it’s highly unlikely you will ever find me by the DH salad bar, I will admit that every year, when this time comes around, I am writing my New Year’s Resolutions and promising myself that this year will be the year I will check every resolution on the list. Although every year I just so happen to find the list buried away in my desk within the first few days of January, I am finding that 2020 might just be my year, and I’m going to tell you the three reasons why.
1. Speaking It into Existence
What I have found incredibly beneficial for sticking to my 2020 resolutions is speaking them into existence. Ever since I have gotten back to college, I have been using the phrases “New year, new me” and “healthy grind” practically every day. Whenever I am out with friends and tempted into getting Mooyah fries or chicken tenders from the Max, I take a minute to reconsider and say “Nah, I’m on my healthy grind.” While I am obviously human and do occasionally cave in for the DH strawberry cake or a late night grilled cheese from the Max, I have gotten better about staying on track and keeping my eye on the prize: putting a check through those resolutions at the end of the year. Frequently talking about my resolutions and acting on them has made me friends notice, which has provided me with even more motivation to continue with them, seeing as I have received recognition. With my friends always saying “Allie is on her healthy grind” or commenting on how I go to the gym everyday, in some way I feel obligated to live up to my reputation.
2. Google Docs
Writing about my day has always been something I have loved to do since I was young and can be proven by the great amount of partially-filled journals that have accumulated in my room over the years. However, what I have found to preserve my passion for daily journaling is moving with time and taking advantage of the technological world we live in. Instead of setting aside a period of time at night to write in a journal that never lasts for more than a week because of pure laziness, I have found that keeping a journal in Google Docs allows for more freedom and convenience. Throughout the day, whenever something memorable happens such as a happy interaction with someone, a funny story, a special event, or a delicious meal, I pull out my phone and open up Google Docs. I type up the memory and can even insert a picture from my iPhone camera roll. It’s really as simple as that, but leaves me with a memory I can go back to and read whenever I’m in the mood to look back at a specific day. This form of journaling is simple and a fast way of getting my thoughts out. It’s something I can do on any electronic I have in my hands, and I find myself using it all the time whether it be when I am chilling in my dorm, walking to class, or waiting for my coffee at Starbucks. Journaling allows me to reflect on my day and get my thoughts out that I may not think of sharing in a normal conversation and reminds me to see if I’m living out my resolutions.
3. One Second Everyday
One of my new favorite things for 2020 that I have decided to jump on the bandwagon of is taking a one-second-a-day video. For the past couple of years, I have often made appearances in my friends’ videos, but never really considered doing it for myself. However, the app 1 Second Everyday makes this super simple. You can take the video within the app and it saves every video together for you, automatically putting them together. I’ve loved looking back at the collective video for a little snippet of my year so far. In addition to my daily journaling, this allows me to get a visual representation as well. Looking back at the video every once in a while has served as a constant reminder of some of the main resolutions on my list: to be thankful for the people in my life, spread positivity, and have a good time!
While we are not even two months into the new year and as embarrassing as it is, this is the longest time I’ve found myself just as passionate about my resolutions now as when I wrote them. The habits I have adopted and incorporated into my daily routine have left me an all around more positive, confident, healthy, and happy person in 2020. I highly recommend all of these daily actions in order to become closer to living out your New Year’s resolutions!