New Year, Same You (For Now)
PC: Levi Ventura
The new year is the perfect time for new beginnings. Often, we mark the new year by making resolutions to better ourselves emotionally, physically, spiritually or socially. Whether or not we actually stick to them though, depends entirely on us. When it comes to keeping resolutions, it’s easy to start out strong the first week of Jan. then as the month continues we slowly burn ourselves out. We have to face the truth that the changes we want will take time.
We enter the new year the same selves as last year and that’s alright. The ultimate goal of a new year’s resolution is to become better in the upcoming year than we were over the course of the whole previous year. Taking it one day at a time and in small steps will aid in not giving up. There are a few things you can do to make your 2019 resolution more manageable.
Let others know about it:
Letting a friend or family member know about your resolution can help to keep you motivated. The encouragements they offer can keep you going strong throughout the year. It’s also harder to give up when you know that someone else is watching your progress. If possible, find someone with a similar resolution so you two can work together.
Keep track of your progress:
Keeping track of your progress weekly or even daily can help you see just how far you’ve come. There are numerous free apps to help you keep track of your new lifestyle changes and hold you accountable.
Journaling your progress in a notebook is an especially great idea if your resolution is focused more on personal growth. The small changes you make may not be noticeable at first, but when you look back at where you started, you’ll definitely notice the difference.
Forgive yourself:
Throughout the year, you’re bound to see some successes with your resolutions, but you’re also bound to see some failures. Maybe you start slacking with daily devotions, or you skip a week of exercise after doing so well. We can’t control the situations that may cause us to fall, but we can control how we react to them. It’s never too late to pick up your resolution again and keep going.
You don’t have to start 2019 as a new person, just with a new mindset. Sticking with your resolution through the ups and downs will make all the difference in determining if you end the year as a better person than when you started it.
Amanda McCarter is a senior studying biomedical science.