NEW YEAR, STILL YOU?
Who is tired of New Year’s resolutions? We usually set limitations on ourselves thinking it will make us “better.” But, most times, we find ourselves missing the mark and feeling disappointed we did not meet the unattainable expectations we set to begin with. We end up causing more stress and get down on ourselves for still being the same “us,” and then we say we will try again next month or next year.
You don’t have to wait for a magical day to start or reset a goal—you can start any time. Also, try setting smaller goals or creating small habits and check-in with yourself at the end of every week or every month—the timeline is up to you. The idea is to create ongoing and adaptable healthy habits to be the best version of yourself. This approach asks you to know yourself and determine your unique needs to focus on wellness.
Personally, I am focusing on pausing and evaluating where I pour my time and energy throughout the day. Additionally, I am only agreeing to activities that bring me joy and declining the ones that drain my energy or feel like an obligation. With this, I have realized I enjoy the fluidity of creating long-term healthy habits more than trying to stick to resolutions I made in the past.
Here are some steps to get started with creating healthy habits:
- What change do you want to make, and what new, healthy habit do you want to create? Think small, attainable and goal-related!
- Why is this new habit important to you?
- How can you make a daily reminder to live out this habit? (Examples: Put a note on your mirror, create a phone wallpaper or write it on a bookmark.)
- Practice and be okay with not always getting it right. Life gets busy, and sometimes we fall short of meeting our goals. It is okay!
- Stay positive and give yourself grace.
- After some time, reflect on why this healthy habit you have created is important to your wellness.
- Celebrate the changes you make to improve your wellness—no matter how small or substantial. How will you celebrate?
It is important to be thoughtful about what you need to do to support your wellness. It’s about shifting your mindset and creating goals that will work for you—and you can restart, try again or completely change them over time. Rather than getting discouraged when you fall short, see it as an opportunity to try again or adjust your expectations. I encourage you to take the first step in getting to know yourself and reflect on what you need to become a better you. Continue to be yourself as you learn and grow into the person you want to be. You are great.
Looking for more? Check out Power of Habit and Atomic Habits.
Read more from the “New Year, New Mindset” series:
This blog post was written by Senior Director of Fraternity Wellness Jenni Jones Despain, Theta Nu–Virginia Commonwealth University, and is part of our New Year, New Mindset series.