Resolutions can start at any time

It’s been a week since people around the world pledged to start their New Years resolutions. Whether it was reducing screen time or hitting the gym, everyone was planning to redeem themselves after the restful end to 2022. 

However, most people tend to ditch their resolutions not long after the beginning of the year. Most people will shrug their shoulders and say “well, there’s always next year!” before resulting back to their old habits. Instead of waiting over 300 days to start brand new with those goals, we as students, can start those resolutions any time of the year. 

While most people tend to stick to the New Year as a clear start to their plans through the “new year, new me” mindset, there truly is no limit as to when you can start your journey. For example, if your goal is to get better sleep this year, see what your first two weeks of the semester are like and if that goal is attainable with your schedule. If your goal is to eat healthier, check the dining hall’s menu in advance to plan out what you’ll want to eat. Goals don’t have to start on the first of the year, first of the month or a typical Monday. 

When people have a minor slip up, it’s easy to procrastinate and fall back into their old habits. Whether they choose to wait another week or even the next year, they consider the slip up to be poor commitment to their goals. One slip up doesn’t constitute as a failure. Everyone has off days or obstacles that get in the way, but it shouldn’t mean that we lose our motivation or drive to complete our goals. 

Additionally, some resolutions may need to be reworked as certain goals work better during different times of the year. If your goal is to get outside more, it’s probably better to get outside during the summer when there isn’t as much snow and cold winds blowing. Around the holiday season when there are plenty of treats around isn’t the best to start a diet when there’s plenty of temptation. Going on a 12 hour road trip without your phone when you vowed to reduce screen time doesn’t sound like such a great idea either. Certain times of the year work better for starting certain goals and that’s okay.

While we, as students, should strive each year to achieve the goals we set for ourselves, we need to be patient and flexible with ourselves in the process of reaching them. No matter how we get there, as long as we can look back on December 31 and realize that we are different than we were at the beginning of the year, then that deserves a celebration in itself.