Resolutions? I’m Setting Goals for the New Year Instead
The first couple of weeks of January can always feel a bit odd. I know some people have this phenomenon that January 1st starts a new phase of your life and can ultimately mean you can have a fresh start. While to some extent this can be true as the beginning of a new calendar year can hold a lot of weight for people, when you get down to it the first couple days and weeks of the new year are just like any other.
For me, 2023 feels like a pretty daunting year as it will encompass a great deal of change. Graduating college and entering the work force is a huge deal, and it feels like the start of the rest of my life — which is honestly a scary thought. Part of this is due to the fact that my entire life up to this point I have played the role of a student, and in a few short months it’s all going to change. On top of being a student, I have played the role of being a daughter, a sister, a roommate, and a friend. This is what I am used to. And while none of these other roles are actually changing, their presence and role in my life will take different forms. Soon there will come a time when I won’t live under my parents’ roof, friends and roommates that I’ve had will go off to various cities — there’s a lot I can’t predict. With this in mind, I’ve found myself rethinking the phenomenon of “New Year’s Resolutions” and what they mean for my year ahead.
Last week, as I was reading our CMO Michelle BB’s “Monday Moments” message that is sent to the entire marketing organization, it instantly had me thinking. In this message, she explained the key differences between resolutions and goals, and why she believes we should ultimately rethink our resolutions into goals. A crucial piece to this, as Michelle mentioned, is to always follow the SMART rule when setting these goals. SMART refers to helpful guidelines that can be used for goal setting — ensuring that they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. I have never been a big fan of resolutions myself or the pressure it creates, but Michelle’s thought process resonated with me a lot and I became inspired to follow.
I began setting both personal and professional goals in order to help calm my fears of entering a year that presents a great deal of change. For example, I’ve been concerned about balancing all of my priorities and still being able to fit in time for myself to exercise. Moving my body is something I really need throughout my day; however it can sometimes be difficult to get to the gym for a variety of circumstances and reasons. I have taken this issue and turned it into a goal of finding new ways to get exercise that don’t require a gym. I will utilize apps and online workout tools to learn new ways to move my body such as yoga or Pilates. One of my larger goals has always been to run the Boston Marathon, but it is a daunting one. With this new mindset adjustment towards goals, I have instead decided to start on a smaller scale and run a half marathon this spring where I will learn the process of what it feels like to train for something significant.
Another goal I have created for myself is to build a stronger relationship with all of my professors. To combat my nerves revolving around my identity as a student coming to an end, I have decided to set a goal for myself to have at least three 1 on 1 sit down conversations with each of my professors as I go through my final semester of college. I will make it a priority of mine to take the time to have these conversations, as I expect to truly get so much out of having them. As seniors, we are encouraged to discuss our feelings around graduating, and I will not shy away from this and I see how much I can gain by building these relationships and how much my nerves can be calmed. They were in my shoes, and they can help with next steps, especially in specific subject matter, which is very helpful in its own way.
Like I said, the start of a new year can always feel strange. There may be people around you who stress the importance of resolutions and taking advantage of the fresh start that the new calendar year seems to bring, but that isn’t the right fit for everyone. I encourage anyone out there to consider rethinking your resolutions into goals, just like I was inspired to do.
