With January in full swing and half-finished, the slowest month has been filled with small successes. Resolutions have never really been my forte, but by making minor goals that make everyday life a little easier, resolutions seem less scary and more manageable.
First, to stick to your resolutions, you have to define what it is you are trying to accomplish. Aside from the basic eat healthier, go to the gym more, spend less etc, actually find small ways to achieve your bigger goals.
The best way to get your resolutions started is to make habits out of what it is you are trying to do. For me, I made small goals that didn’t involve too much commitment on my end. Things like reading a new book every month (outside of the required readings for class), sign up for one registered work out class every two weeks, make my bed every morning, and use less heat on my hair. These things are super easy and benificia to do.
First, resolutions/goals keep you on track. Life can get hectic when you’re a student, and sometimes we let day-to-day activities slip by. By creating goals, you’re telling yourself you’re going to do something, and once you do it, there’s a sense of accomplishment that makes you want to do it again.
Not only are goals super rewarding, but they also can help you become more organized. Most goal-setting requires some scheduling, list-making, or planning, which are all essential aspects of becoming a successful student/employee. Once you have got that list made, you have created a sense of direction for yourself that you won’t necessarily have otherwise. By being able to plan your week of activities and to-dos fully, the stress of cramming and not finding time to do what you have planned to do will slowly become a ghost of the more stressful, less responsible past we all want to put behind us.
Another way to stick to your goals is to share your goals with others. I’m sure this has been said a million times, but it’s tried and true that once you have someone else to help hold you accountable, you become accountable. Friends, family members, and even weekly (or for some over-achievers, daily) social media updates can transition some of the more meticulous goals into just another part of your everyday life.
By this time, around 85 percent of goals have already fallen out of reach/focus for people who have set them. Stick to it and amaze yourself and others when you can look back in 6 months, or a year, and look at everything you have accomplished. Remind yourself that once you have a goal in mind, there’s never the right or wrong time to start it. It takes on average ten repetitive times of doing something to make it stick, so whenever you have that drive- go all the way!
It’s the end of January, but not the end of creating resolutions. So get out there, and don’t let it become a “new year” thing!