We’re now more than a month into 2020. It’s about that time of year when we become swept up in our everyday lives and begin to forget about all the promises we made to ourselves 30-something days ago. I know I sure have.
So, I challenge us to re-evaluate and perhaps even make a few edits to our 2020 resolutions.
Let’s start by making a list (mental or literal) of the goals we set for ourselves for this year. We’re over thirty days into the year so we should have some idea by now about how achievable they are. Then, let’s sort the resolutions into three categories:
- The ones that are totally achievable – these are the goals that we only have to work a little hard for. They may involve continuing good habits that we want to maintain from last year or small adjustments to our daily routine that we’ll enjoy. My “totally achievable” goals for this year are to continue the fitness habits that became an integral part of my weekly routine, and to continue making an effort to meet new people on my campus. These could also be the goals that you prioritize the most. If you notice that your grades are dropping, perhaps put healthy habits (i.e. avoid procrastination at all costs) that would prevent that in this category.
- The ones we’ll have to push ourselves to achieve – these are the goals that will put you out of your comfort zone and that perhaps require a little extra time and energy. They are the attainable goals that you have to work for and should be some of the most important ones on your list. They’ll contribute to 2020 being better than 2019 and to your growth as an individual.
- The ones that are near impossible – these are the dreams. Honestly, these are by far my favorite. They are the “shoot for the moon” goals, the secret wishes that you may not even have control over. I can never help but have at least a couple of these on my list of resolutions.
Now, if you’re like me, that’s a lot of goals and trying to achieve all of them together will just make you overwhelmed and less likely to completely achieve any of them. The solution to this is prioritizing. Within each of the three categories, prioritize the goals you want to work on first. As you make progress on them, start checking them off and moving on to the next. This will make sure that you’re actually achieving your resolutions, as opposed to working at them all at once and getting burnt out before January is even over.
There’s a myth that it takes 2 weeks to make or break a habit. In actuality, there’s no formula for this. Each individual is different and will take different amounts of time to adjust to a new habit. Changing a routine makes your body uncomfortable, but then you begin to adjust. So, this means that although achieving a goal will bring positivity in the end, the initial hurdle is the hardest and most important to overcome. And for this, persistence and patience are key.
