Spring has sprung. The days are getting longer, the flowers are starting to bloom and the time of rebirth is upon us. Spring is the time to make positive changes. It’s the season of sloughing off what no longer serves you, the time to get rid of the old and make space for good new things to come in. It’s called “spring cleaning” for a reason.
We’re almost a third of the way through the year, so there is a chance that you may have fallen off the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. If you’re three months into your New Year’s resolution, congratulations! But for most people, unfortunately, that’s not the case. Did you know about a fourth of the population gives up on their New Year’s Resolutions after just one week?
It can be hard to reset. It can be hard to leave old habits behind and make strides towards a goal that seems impossible. It also can be a struggle to find motivation at times. We’re halfway through the semester, and with the school year coming to a close, it can be hard to push yourself towards the finish line. Maybe you didn’t open your computer over spring break (because you wanted, well, a break), and now you’re behind on work, or you need to start a huge project you feel like you’re never going to finish. What can you say to yourself to get started on accomplishing your goals?
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” You might think that Neil Armstrong has nothing to do with your goal of working out consistently or finishing your term paper, but you’d be wrong. This famous American quote is some of the best advice I have recently received.
I was scrolling on TikTok when I came across a video from a creator named Dellara, @legalbaddie on TikTok and @dellara on Instagram. She’s a gorgeous, badass lawyer in Los Angeles, who also happens to be a great singer. She may seem untouchable and perfectly put together, but she’s down to earth and frequently gives advice based on her own past mistakes. In the video I came across, she says you can stop procrastinating by taking one step towards your goal everyday. I love this advice because I am a chronic procrastinator, and taking one step towards a goal everyday makes me feel like accomplished something, so I don’t get to bed with the feeling of dread that I get when I put something off yet again. When you make working towards your goal a daily habit instead of pushing it off and making it seem like an insurmountable task, the work gets done.
Nick Viall, an iconic presence in the “Bachelor” franchise and host of one of my favorite podcasts, “The Viall Files,” frequently says the phrase, “Shavings make a pile,” referring to both wood shavings and daily habits. The little things you do everyday add up to create the bigger picture. If you start walking or jogging today, you’ll be closer to running a marathon than if you never started. So, just start with one step at a time! One foot in front of the other today, and you’ll be closer to your goal tomorrow. When the days become yesterdays and start adding up, you’ll find you have reached your goal in a way that felt natural and with minimal stress because you made hard work a daily habit. Keep going!