As the winter quarter comes to a close, an impulse toward change is revived for the spring season. Springtime is often associated with a sense of renewal, making it a premier time to reassess one’s life and consider how to be more successful in the upcoming term. It is truly a paramount time to explore self-transformation, and the break between quarters offers a unique opportunity to reset and reflect. But it can be hard to know where to start. So here are four tips on setting up success for the spring:
- Do a life audit.
A life audit refers to the examination of one’s own life in order to make adjustments for the coming season. Some areas that you should assess are health, finances, career, relationships and free time. It is important to be honest with oneself about where you are versus where you would like to be. It is important to remember that life is a process and that sometimes progress unfolds gradually. If an aspect of your life has felt stagnant, this may be a good opportunity for recalibration.
- Alter your mindset to be accepting of change.
This tip is easier said than done. Altering one’s mindset to be accepting of change can be really difficult, as humans are psychologically wired to avoid uncertainty and gravitate towards the familiar. Awareness of this tendency is one key factor in overcoming this mental block. Instead, it is helpful to envision oneself as a work in progress, continuously growing and open to new possibilities. Try it out!
- Keep goals realistic and emotionally manageable.
After you have conducted your life audit and pursued the mentality of betterment, you should be honest with yourself about what sort of goals are achievable. It is important to keep one’s goals realistic and emotionally manageable to increase one’s chances of success. When creating unrealistic goals, it can be incredibly discouraging and feel almost impossible to reach them. Instead, make small, manageable changes that lead to gradual improvement. One day you will be able to reach that big goal, and it is okay if today is not that day!
Here are some examples of goals I have set for myself to provide inspiration: start incorporating more protein into my diet, drink more water, and make fewer on-campus purchases.
- Celebrate consistency more than intensity.
Consistency is an important part of habit formation, making it key to setting oneself up for success. Meanwhile, intensity can feel like a large accomplishment, but it can ultimately lead to burnout. Therefore, while intensity can feel gratifying, the greatest success actually comes from the comparatively quiet, repeatable behaviors. One way to keep track of these behaviors is through a journal log or through an app tracker. These can be really helpful devices for analyzing one’s own progress and serve as a reminder of how far you have come on your self-improvement journey.
Setting up one’s success during spring break is a proactive way to lay the foundation for a fruitful spring quarter. As the winter quarter ends, there is an opportunity to assess your past success from the last three months and evaluate which habits contributed to your growth as a person and which ones didn’t. The brief pause between quarters is a valuable period for both recovery and reflection. What will you do with it?