Ah, New Years. The one time of the year where tens of thousands of people make plans to become better people, to achieve personal goals or to maybe just try something new. But how can we create New Year’s resolutions that matter and can actually have a lasting impact on our lives, and most importantly, that we can stick to?
1. Personal Health/Fitness
This is a big one. A lot of people, myself included, try to make resolutions to get into shape, kick a habit which can detrimental to our health (i.e. smoking or eating tons of junk food) or to generally be more mindful of what we do to our bodies. Making plans to become a healthier person is a great thing. The biggest piece of advice I can give to all of you out there is to MAKE PLANS YOU CAN CONCEIVABLY STICK TO. Nothing is worse than making a great plan and then to be in over your head and having to give up. Start off small. For example, if you want to become more fit, a good place to start would be to work your hardest in phys ed class and maybe make an effort to go for a 20-minute run once or twice a week and move up from there.
2. Character and Personal Attitudes
We all have those annoying habits in the way we act that can drive others (and sometimes even ourselves) crazy. I, for one, have a bit of a sarcasm problem. I use sarcasm way more than I should and through excessive use, it has become my automatic response to anything said to me that I deem as being dumb, rude or pointless. Even people asking me the same question over and over again sets me off. If you want to change something about the way you react to certain
things, stopping and thinking is a great place to start. How does this affect me as a person? What do people think of me when I do this? Can this have a negative impact on my personal and professional relationships? If you know that something needs to change, try to be conscious of it and how it manifests itself in you. Going back to my personal example, I would say that I need to be more understanding and aware of my reactions, that way my sarcasm stops being such a natural retort. Overall, a resolution to change an attitude is really great, but be warned, it will take a lot of effort and commitment on your part.
3. Relationships
Is there that one person who just makes your heart flutter every time you see them but you don’t know how to make your feelings known? Do you have a significant other and want to improve upon your current relationship? Do you want to be a better friend? There’s pretty much only one way of putting this. Relationships are complicated, regardless of your situation, and they will never stop getting more complicated. An improvement in any given relationship requires effort from all parties involved. Communication is the key. You need to TALK. Make a plan. If you don’t know how to proceed, consult someone you really trust, who gives good advice and who won’t judge you. If you don’t have someone in your life like that, the Internet is always a viable option. However, be wary and don’t believe everything you read online. Another key point to consider is to not be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, provided that the action you will be taking will not have definite negative consequences. Also, don’t do something drastic right away. Slow and steady will win the race.