New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year! I think with every new year, most people like to make resolutions that they usually fall through on. It’s okay. I, too, am like most people. After looking over my drunkenly written New Year’s resolutions on January 1st, I decided to not acknowledge that I had written any and instead decided to only follow one New Year’s resolution: be better than you were yesterday. 

I know, I know – it sounds cliché. But if you think about it, it’s a pretty good resolution. It’s something that can be practiced every day of the year and it’s (in theory) not that hard to accomplish. What I like about that small goal is that it’s challenging and it’s goal-oriented, not result-oriented like what a lot of resolutions tend to be. 

The idea is especially important for college students because it’s hard not to compare yourself to other students. Sometimes, you may catch yourself comparing yourself to peers that seem like they have their life together. It bogs you down because you start to question why you’re not there yet or why they seem to have it together and you don’t. You bring yourself down for no reason. However, if you start having the mindset of competing with just yourself, you can only get better. Of course, there will always be setback days, but you can do something about it. You don’t have control of other people’s lives and their accomplishments, but you do have control over your life and what you strive to accomplish. 

Personally, I struggle with trying not to compare myself to other people. There’s a toxic ideology that college students have a timeline – we have to graduate by a certain time, get a job by a certain time, get married, etc. I have plenty of work to do on myself, and it doesn’t help when I’m bombarded with negative thoughts about how I’m behind in life or I’m failing. Luckily, the timeline isn’t real, and everyone moves at their own pace. With my New Year’s resolution, I hope to have a different outlook of school and of life this year and hopefully for years to come.

“Be better than you were yesterday” is a simple quote with an important meaning. It could be the start of a happier and healthier mindset. I hope that this year, I’ll be able to accomplish all of the things I set my mind to and become a better person along the way. And I hope the same for anyone reading this. 

• motivation
• new years resolutions
• positive
• self-care
• self-love