Start Strong, Stay Strong: New Years Resolutions
By Mai Nguyen (PC Fall ’17)
Hi Brothers! I am thrilled to be one of your athletics directors this semester! One of my biggest goals is to provide you all with valuable information and resources to aid you all in leading a healthier lifestyle as a college student, and ultimately in creating habits that will follow you post-college.
As we approach the end of January, many of us also approach the end of that “New Year, new me,” mentality that gave us the momentum to follow through with our resolutions past the first week of the new year. Here are some tips and reminders to to keep you going strong and persevering all the way to December.
Tip #1 — Be realistic in your goals.
Keep your resolutions just above your current reality so that they’re actually attainable with just a bit of consistent determination. It doesn’t matter the extent of the change as long as you keep your focus on improving yourself. A small change can make a huge difference down the line!
Tip #2 — Keep your goals few…
Are you having trouble differentiating between your grocery list and your new year resolutions? Keep your resolutions down to 2–3 items to keep from getting overwhelmed.
Tip #3: … and SMART.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely, and is a guide used to formulate goals with a clear path on how to reach them. For example, take the goal: Go to the gym more. SMART version: Go to the gym for 30 minutes, 3 times a week right after my last class.
Tip #4 — Record your progress.
It’s hard to notice the small, gradual changes as they happen to us every day, so document them along with your journey. Your personal record of what you have done can be as in depth or as brief as you like. Seeing all those days you’ve gone to the gym or all those times you decided to cook a healthy meal for yourself is a great way to motivate yourself to continue.
Tip #5 — It’s okay to fail!
Failure gives you a lot of information. Look at what’s stopping you, and make efforts to address the problem with a compromising solution instead of waving it off as an excuse. Make adjustments if you need to! If you find yourself too busy to go to the gym for 30 minutes 3 times a week because you need to study, then take two 15-minute long breaks between your study sessions to go for a walk or quick jog.
Tip #6 — Stay optimistic!
Don’t dwell on how many cups of water you didn’t drink, or that liter of soda, PopTart, and all those pizza rolls that you downed for dinner and believe that you have to wait for the next year to try to be healthy again. Think about the 10,000 steps you took as you went from class to class or any small accomplishment you made, and see tomorrow as a new day to make better decisions.
Tip #7 — Remember you have family and friends by your side.
In my opinion, family and friends are the GREATEST motivators in keeping you accountable. Tackle your resolutions with your family and friends, and encourage one another. If you’re a competitive individual, then find someone who will push you to stick to your resolution. With a network of so many dedicated Brothers and the help of social media, this should be easy!
While a new year is such an attractive time to turn a new leaf on an old habit, don’t subscribe to the idea that that’s the only time to make a change! Every tomorrow comes with the chance to improve. Remember that it doesn’t matter the extent of the change you make. You don’t have to completely transform yourself! Please make every effort to improve your lifestyle so that at the end of the day, you are healthy AND happy.
Good luck with both this semester and this year, and please feel free to reach out to me if you would like to see a post on a specific topic!
Originally published at gtakpsite.com on January 23, 2018.
