The celebration of the new year often leads to setting popular resolutions and goals such as losing a few pounds before spring break, becoming healthier or striving for a lifelong dream. While these aspirations are respectable, many find that staying diligent about their resolutions tends to fade into the inner crevasses of the mind as other important daily stresses rise to the forefront. Instead of putting these demands upon ourselves in which most of us will fail or forget about halfway through the year, we should think of these dreams and desires in a more realistic manner and add in a healthy balance of perspective.
First, one must delve into the root of the problem by questioning why these resolutions have never been met in past years. For example, one might have difficulty with laziness, which makes the act of working out challenging. If one wishes to rid their laziness, they could focus first on establishing good habits, such as going to the gym every day. Although the focus is not solely on losing weight, working to create a healthier habit will naturally help one to find the benefits of exercising, thus creating a leaner and happier self.
Another bad habit that many people overlook when deciding what will be on the New Year’s resolution list is jealousy. By ridding yourself of jealousy, you are opening yourself up to achieving many other goals and dreams. This bad habit, often stemmed from wanting what others have, can lead people into forgetting what truly matters. Instead of allowing this jealousy to wash over you as you secretly long for more respect in your workplace or desire to earn a raise, go after what you want and strive for the best. We all have special gifts to share with the world that each of us can bring. If we feel good about what we have to offer and do not waste time comparing ourselves unnecessarily, we can focus on doing well where we feel confident in pursuing those dreams instead of what others are achieving.
As this semester slowly begins, try to break the bad habit of avoidance. Although difficulties may accumulate as the semester progresses, getting things done in a timely manner will help to leave room in the daily schedule. Running away from problems might seem like the easier and immediate solution, but putting things off will only cause the situation to grow into something worse. With all the stress that college life brings, avoiding the inevitable will only cause more unhealthy habits as time progresses.
There is a tendency to let the little irritants at the beginning of a semester creep into the habit of complaining. From early classes to unfair teachers, complaining about school and the stress that it brings is common for students to engage in this bad habit. Although venting might be relieving when sharing with close friends about your frustrations, do not dwell on them for too long because it will not make the situation better or make you feel happier. The only way to break this bad habit is to deal with the hardships of life and find the best possible outcome. One of the best ways to lighten up is to laugh and find the absurdity in the situation. One must realize there could always be a far worse scenario to imagine.
If one changes one’s attitude into thinking positively, getting through the semester without constantly complaining will slowly become easier. When you have a bad attitude, life seems as if everyone is constantly bringing you down. The desire to hurt others with an irritable and unreasonable attitude will not accomplish anything in life. Focus on the good things that you do and reward yourself after the work ends. This will help to develop good habits for the future.
Although New Year’s resolutions can be exasperatingly difficult to maintain, choosing to make positive choices can be the first step toward defeating bad habits. Start the year off right with confidence to break bad habits by slowly correcting them over time. A new year also signifies letting go of things we do not wish to keep. Aspiring to correct bad habits like laziness, jealousy, avoidance, complaining and a constant negative attitude by choosing better thoughts and deeds will be the first step to progress. One may be surprised at how much easier it is to take control of life and discover the positive effects of completely letting go of what was not working in the past.
— Samantha Trueheart is a sophomore in communications. She can be reached at struehea@utk.edu.
