Happy
New Year Class of 2015!
With
the New Year comes great New Year resolutions, right? WRONG!
One
of the things I enjoyed during the holiday break was catching up on lots of
books and articles. Stuff I have been wanting to read but just couldn’t
make the time. I read one article that provided a statistic on the
staggering number of New Year resolutions that are broken each year. This
I can believe because we all see it first-hand. I avoid the gym the first
two weeks of January due to the influx of people who just taper off as the
month wears on. I’m sure you know of specific examples as well.
So,
I started thinking……why do we make them? I believe we all have things we
want to change about ourselves. Our intentions are good but deep down the
thought of committing to something for 365 days is daunting. And if we
fail for one day or moment then the thought of getting back on track and
sustaining that resolution becomes an even bigger burden. The path of
least resistance is to give up, right? We’ve all been there……
I’m
trying something new this year. Instead of one resolution, I have twelve
and this is why. Because I know I can do anything for a month. That’s
easy, right? After a mere 30 days I can decide if it is something I want
to continue doing and therefore add it to my routine or ditch it. Instead
of one major accomplishment I get to have twelve. One for each
month. And, along the way, you get to push your boundaries which leads to
personal development.
The
other thing I read is you are more likely to stick to a goal if you share that
goal with others. Why? Because if you vocalize your intentions to
another individual you feel more responsible and committed to seeing them
through. Somebody else now knows what you are working on and can hold you
accountable.
So,
commit to checking your phone at only certain points of the day, smiling and
saying hello and thank you to everyone that helps you at Mabee or drinking more
water. Whatever it is, it doesn’t have to be a big action to make a big
difference for you or someone else. Just try it.
Jennifer Dewar
Alumni
Sponsor
