With Valentine’s Day commercials in full swing, we can officially say that the second month of 2017 has begun. New Year’s is in our hindsight--have you stayed true to your resolutions?
February marks approximately one whole month since NYC’s ball dropped, and you promised yourself that this year would be different. 31 days full of time to improve your physical, mental, and spiritual health. For some, promises have been prioritized. Cheers to those of you who have been sticking to your diet and making time in your busy schedule to go try new things, like yoga. Or vegan yogurt. As for the rest of you… well, there’s always next year!
I can’t say that I’ve been as true to my resolutions as I was in the beginning of January. I have tried to avoid the cookie station at the dining hall and manage my time much more efficiently (because saving homework due midnight on Sunday until 11 pm on Sunday is not, in fact, cool). But, admittedly, that fresh New Year’s motivation is not as sturdy as it was on the first day of the year. I have, with guilt swelling my heart, visited the desert section a few more times than what should be humanly possible.
Now, it’s not to say that I’ve lost sight of my goals completely. I have a list pinned to my desk of the habits I want to change. Namely, not waiting until 10 pm to get my spandex on, then convincing myself that it is too late to go on a run. Now, this list is nicely planned and all, and anyone can arguably claim that they are going to strive to achieve their long term goals. But, I’ve found that these declarations ultimately do not contribute to your life now. Many psychological studies suggest that people tend to choose the task that immediately rewards them rather than waiting for an even more rewarding alternative. This immediate task may not be the best choice, and can even inhibit you from living the most successful life you possibly can. This lack of potential is, however, easily avoidable with a fresh state of mind.
It’s easy to simply say you want something done, but without a positive attitude, you cannot begin the small tasks needed to reach that goal. In essence, any considerable objective is most efficiently approached with your best, most content self. It’s all about appreciating the small joys of every day, about accepting every challenge with an open heart and a wide smile, and about reflecting on the past to construct a larger future.
Can you remember what you had for breakfast last Saturday morning? Or that new pair of shoes you bought on the trip to the mall with your mom during winter break? Now, let me ask you this. Do you stop and think about every time you blink? No, because blinking is insignificant. As soon as you blink, the moment is gone. And it’s gone again. And that moment? Gone.
Many people go through their lives without being cognizant of their progress. Small but meaningful pleasures become lost in the grand scheme of things because of the demanding tasks that every day presents to them. What I’ve come to realize over this past month is that in order to make progress, you must maintain a restorative attitude. To do this, it is necessary to always remember what holds meaning. On my desk, among the tall stack of textbooks and a relentless stack of paper that calls my name on Friday nights, lies a sheet of paper. It’s wrinkled and might even have a few ketchup stains. It’s significance, nonetheless, is unambiguous. On this small paper is messily scribbled phrases, including the following:
January 2 - friendly company.
January 4- honey with tea on a cloudy day
January 11 - finishing an impactful book, "The Gesture Life"
January 17 -finished an interview feeling like I did well
January 30 - finally finishing that essay I’ve been procrastinating
February 3 - rewatching Finding Dory on Netflix
This, my fellow friends and readers, is a sample of the compilation of tiny joys that occurred on each respective date. Each thing on the list took a maximum of ten seconds to think of, then put on paper. The intent of this list is to glance at it whenever I’m not feeling my best, and remember that each and every single day is full of opportunities and wonderful experiences to not be forgotten. If you don’t pay attention to your surroundings and are not self aware, life truly can pass by like the blink of an eye. I encourage all of you to initiate your own list, and immerse yourself in every episode of your life. It’s immensely easy to get lost in the tangle of long term goals that you have, but in order to make them meaningful, you must not neglect to acknowledge that every day in itself is a small advancement to a prodigious goal. Appreciate right now before appraoching later.
I will end this with a quote that one of my professors shared with my class about happiness. This professor is an inspiration to me and my classmates alike because of her genuine enthusiasm to advise her students and share her experiences with us. In one of her lectures, she discussed an experiment she conducted. She walked around her office branch and asked her colleagues about what a meaningful life is to them. One response in particular piqued my interest, and I asked her to share it with me. Now, I am sharing it with you.
“A meaningful life?
My life is defined by my personal relationships and my experiences of the physical world that surrounds those people.
It is camping trips and sitting by the fire with people and talking about the day.
It is a road trip to Mexico that I took with 5 friends and a stop at a road side taco stand in a village and eating fish tacos and drinking a Pepsi out of a plastic bag.
It is driving through South Dakota with my best friend on Native American highways and eating a burger in a bar on a reservation and talking to people there.
It is losing a game of pool to a one armed man in a bar at Kansas City, and knowing that he was gonna beat me and take my money, but doing it anyway because I had to know about this guy.
It is sleeping on a church floor in Alabama with BU students on Alternative Spring Break and then working in people's’ homes.
It is having dinner with a buddy and talking about his son’s autism and the battle to get him schooling and giving him a hug.
It is having dinner with my girlfriend at our local [restaurant] and us both knowing the others there.
For me, a meaningful life is experiencing life on the ground, up close with people, everything else is just things”.
