Bonne Annee! Prosit Neujah! Buon Capodanno! Feliz Ano Neuvo! (“Happy New Year” in French, German, Italian, and Spanish respectively).
The beginning of a new year usually means New Year’s resolutions.. which, realistically speaking, will be given up by most people by the beginning of February. Hoever, don’t fret. The Study Hut is here to help you stay on the right track to keeping your new year’s resolutions.
1. Keep your resolutions simple and be realistic about them.
Don’t set resolutions that you know are impossible, such as “winning the lottery” or making your first $1 million by the age of 21 when you’re only 17 (unless you’re Mark Zuckerberg, and even he didn’t earn his first $1 million by the age of 21.) The most important thing you should do is be honest with yourself; set yourself some realistic goals that you can achieve within a reasonable time frame. Intangiable goals such as earning an “A” in math when it’s not your best subject or making and maintaing meaningful relationships are examples of what most students should aim for. By setting realistic goals and resolutions, you’ll have higher odds at achieving them, and staying motivated to doing better and becoming a better person.
2. Don’t try to “punish” yourself “straight.”
In other words, don’t motivate yourself by using punishment as a motivator. Punishment will never work well if you are looking for long-lasting results. Heck, punishment as a motivator will often lead to failure. Instead of trying to tell yourself that you’ll be punished if you don’t keep your resolution, try to focus on the positive aspects of your goals (resolutions) and realize the potential rewards. Stay positive and you’ll be more successful at keeping your resolutions than by being negative.
3. Find a new social circle if you don’t have a good, strong, and supportive one already.
Yes, I know this is rather harsh, but if you don’t have genuine and supportive friends, you won’t likely to succeed in keeping your new year’s resolutions and goals. Social support is critical to changing all kinds of behavior, even bad behavior, and both consciously and unconsciously, people tend to imitate those around them. So, surround yourself with good and supportive friends who can also be good role models for you. Remember, social imitation is the easiest form not only of flattery, but of self-improvement.
