New Year’s Resolutions | Graphic by Monica Brutto | The Wright State Guardian
According to the New York Post, 80% of Americans fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions, college students being no exceptions. Here are some simple steps and advice on how to keep your New Year’s resolution this year.
Pick one or a few goals for your list
Having too many resolutions can make someone feel overwhelmed and disappointed when they do not reach all of their goals. Keeping the list small with goals such as ‘get better grades’ and ‘keep a journal’ can help students focus their energy on those certain things.
Be specific
Let’s say someone has decided on ‘get better grades’ as their new year’s resolution. This is too general and doesn’t provide a concrete end goal. Students can evaluate what specifically they want to reach. For example, the goal ‘get better grades’ would work better as ‘achieve a 3.0 GPA ’.
Make a realistic plan
Now that students have a specific goal (achieve a 3.0 GPA) it is time to make a plan on how to achieve this goal. Available time and needs must be taken into consideration. For example, someone might study for two hours after dinner every day and visit the writing center every month to get help with papers if that is where they are struggling.
Get a journal
Having a journal specifically for this New Year’s resolution/s can increase motivation and keep the focus on why someone is trying to achieve these goals in the first place.
Students can write down their reason for wanting a 3.0 GPA in the first place, such as to qualify for scholarships. Students should periodically write down their progress to show how they are getting closer to their goals.
Make a vision board
Vision boards (also referred to as dream boards) are visual representations of goals/dreams on a board that can be used any time of year but can be especially useful for the new year. Students can put their resolutions list and pictures of what they want their life to look like this year.
Be creative!
Find support
Working on goals alone can be very isolating. Finding a friend or family member to hold one accountable towards New Year’s goals will help when motivation gets low.
A friend can make sure a student gets to class and studies when they say they are going to. Offer to help the friend be accountable towards their new year’s resolution as well.
