It’s the New Year! With the start of each new year comes renewed spirits, fresh excitement and ecstasy, new mindsets, new goals, and most importantly, NEW RESOLUTIONS. However, oftentimes, these resolutions slowly or rapidly melt into unfulfilled desires and wishes, just like building castles in the air.
Do not get me wrong. It is a wonderful feat to craft resolutions every year. In fact, it is expedient to have those New Year resolutions. But have you ever pondered on the strange cycle that plagues our resolutions?
Follow me as I take you on a little journey to the past. Shall we?
It was a new year last year. You were as excited as everyone else was. Before that, you had already identified things you wanted to work on and things you intended to achieve, and you diligently wrote them down.
You mapped out a plan on how you would accomplish all of these. As the new year arrived, you decided to give yourself a nice treat and to relax on the first day. On day two, you commenced your journey to personal growth. This goes on for a while.
February meets you still having zeal. Then, schoolwork became intense, and you skipped a day and promised yourself to continue the following day. But you moved on from skipping a day to skipping two days to skipping a week till they were out of your radar. The year ends, and you realise you’ve only repeated the same sickly cycle from the previous years.
This is almost a relatable scenario for many students. We start the New Year with our noble and lofty plans. Sadly, we are never prepared for all the challenges, casualties, and “inevitables” that could hinder our goals.
What if we approached the new year with a different mindset? Instead of setting lofty resolutions, maybe we could focus on creating a realistic plan that allows for flexibility and adjustment as life unfolds. By recognizing this cycle, we can better prepare ourselves to handle the bumps in the road and stay committed to our growth.
Being a victim myself, let’s uncover how we can turn these resolutions into achievable milestones this time around.
1. Break down your plans into attainable steps. Large goals can sometimes feel overwhelming, so it can be helpful to divide them into smaller, manageable steps. For example, if your goal is to read 12 books this year, you could break this down to reading one book per month and then distribute the number of pages over the days of that month. This approach makes the goal easier to achieve.
2. Be flexible and prepare for the unexpected. Things don’t always go as planned, so it’s beneficial to have a backup plan. This includes having a Plan B ready when circumstances change. Overly strict routines can be habit killer
3. Embrace adaptability. Overly strict routines can be habit killers. Adaptability is the new stability.
4. Conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) to better understand your situation.
5. Take time to reflect on your progress and decisions.
6. Be realistic in your expectations while staying committed to your goals.
And as a bonus tip, you can make use of the YouTuber, Mat D’Avella’s Two-Day rule to help you. The Two-Day rule allows you lots of flexibility on your way to forming habits and the rule is simple- never let two days pass without acting on your goals. And when you fall off, just make sure to get to it the next day.
Wishing you a wonderful 2025!
