Anna Schneider
With the year of 2019 kicking off in full swing, New Year’s resolutions are on everyone’s mind. Whether it is striving after goals or finally breaking that bad habit, a new year brings a new wave of motivation. As school begins, keeping up with these goals can be difficult. Between new classes, catching up with friends, and trying to stay stress-free, juggling another time commitment or even a new mental state can fall through the cracks. Remembering the reason behind the goal, setting aside time, and finding a partner to hold each other accountable are great ways to continue to thrive with these new aspirations.
Setting a new routine is very challenging and can become frivolous when time and motivation start running out. The best way to conquer the feelings of giving up is to remember why setting the goal was important in the first place. From working out more, treating the body as good as the skin, stopping nail biting, or spending more time around people, each mission began with a reason that was important enough to initiate a change. Going back to where this process started can help revive the same motivation acquired on the first of January. Writing this reason down and putting it somewhere to look at everyday can help with the daily fight.
New classes mean new life schedules. Especially during the first couple weeks of classes, setting aside time to achieve new goals is very important. It can be easy to push off new things until a firm plan is set; however, having a set time for any goal makes it easier to develop it into a habit. Skipping a New Year’s resolution while solidifying the semester’s schedule will make it more difficult to add in the goal as the weeks pass. In addition, fitting any time commitment into a college schedule is typically easier during the beginning of the semester.
Having a friend as an accountability partner is another great tool for tackling a new goal head-on. Another like-minded individual can help with motivation especially for long-term goals. With a friend striving to carry out the same resolution, staying strong becomes not only easier, but also more enjoyable. In addition, an accountability partner can be used for inspiration during times when giving up seems like a good option or procrastination is rearing its ugly head.
“The most difficult part of starting a New Year’s Resolution is translating it into everyday life. At first it is easy because it is all so fresh, but as January rolls by, it gets a lot harder to want to do it and actually plan it into the day,” said a Missouri S&T student, whose 2019 goal is to go to the gym regularly. Heading to the gym or adding any new stop in a typical day can be a very difficult transition. Having a good reason helps keep motivation up when laying in bed sounds more appealing. Physically scheduling an hour or two out of the day to be dedicated to the New Year’s resolution makes the transition easier to commit to. Finding and utilizing an encouraging motivation tool will make all the difference in the journey of carrying out a New Year’s resolution and keeping 2019 on track to be a great year. Good luck!
