Now that a new year is officially underway, many people are eagerly planning how to make sure their resolutions last. However, this task can also be daunting, especially depending on how specific the resolutions might be. Instead of just confining yourself to a strict routine to guarantee a resolution’s success, consider general ways to improve your entire lifestyle. Learning a new skill or better balancing your time is praiseworthy, but think about how you most want to feel in another twelve months.
This year, simply strive to be the best you that you can be.
1. Be your own judge.
Before anything else, resolve to focus on your happiness and goals without following others’ expectations, especially if they expect perfection. We are naturally imperfect people, and working toward perfection rather than improvement is an instant set-up for failure. However, if people expect you to fail, prove that you can fall but get right back up. Everyone else is just watching your efforts, but you are living them. Therefore, your opinion about your goals and success is all that should matter. You are also the only one who knows your limitations. Push yourself past your own expected abilities, not what others expect from you.
Doing your best is really as close to perfection as anyone can ever get.
2. Be your own competitor.
Competing with an acquaintance in a little friendly rivalry can be a fun and helpful way to keep your motivation. However, the best competition is between your past attempts and your current potential. Friends and family have different strengths and weaknesses than your own, which could compromise the fairness of any competition. If a classmate is naturally skilled in one subject that you dislike or do not understand, where is the fairness in trying to beat his or her scores? Instead of looking around for competitors, look back to past semesters and try to study more or score higher than you previously did.
Similarly, consider your own unique talents and abilities rather than what you wish you had or see in others. No one else can use them quite like you, so why look elsewhere for material to improve when you are already a wonderful work in progress?
3. Be your own cheerleader.
Unfortunately, most people will not realize how important something is to you until you tell them. Even then, occasionally, they will not understand its magnitude. Of course, this is no one’s fault. You are likely the only one to put your blood, sweat, and tears into your own task, so people around you will naturally be unable to understand the extent of your efforts. It is not personal. It is simply a fact of life. Instead of envying someone else who might be receiving praise, take yourself out for a celebratory outing or coffee date after all those sleepless nights. You did the work and you deserve the treat, even if no one else is watching. Acknowledgment is always nice after success, but just let it be the cherry on the sundae instead of the whole dessert.
4. Be your own project.
After all, a new year means a new you! Consider bringing some of that inner self-motivation to the outside as well as a constant reminder of your individualized resolutions. Many people like to alter their appearances every year or even alongside every lifestyle decision, usually with a new haircut, piercing, or makeover. Choose whatever works best for you and don’t be afraid to take the leap. Outer modifications are meant to represent a change in how you feel, which should then translate your new attitude or resolve to those around you. Drastic ones are also supposed to remind you of your own inner strengths every time you look in the mirror.
This year, put on your battle armor, whether it be red lipstick or a school hoodie, and face 2017 feeling empowered and capable of conquering all your goals.
