It was January 1, the very first day of 2012. As my family sat around the New Year’s dinner table, we discussed our New Year’s resolutions. I can recall ambitiously saying something along the lines of, “I am only going to drink one Diet Coke a week and only eat frozen yogurt a maximum of two times a week.”
But, by January 7, I probably had at least four Diet Cokes and went to Yogurtland/Menchies more than two times. I was only seven days into the new year and I already experienced a New Year’s resolution failure. Way to start off the new year with success, right? Fail.
It’s the third week of January; how are you feeling about your New Year’s resolutions? Do you even remember them? Is your New Year’s resolution experience similar to mine?
What I forgot to mention was that on January 1, I actually made another important and far more meaningful New Year’s resolution. I have actually kept this one and vow to keep it too. My third New Year’s resolution was to “have more fun.”
I know that it may sound too simple, corny and cliché, but read on to understand where I am going with this.
As a full-time student with a heavy course load, many extracurricular activities, a part-time job and a social life — it is hard to find the “fun” and excitement in an overbooked and sometimes stressful lifestyle.
I know most students experience similarly jam-packed schedules and the same stressful woes of college life. And because this is only the second week of the semester, courses will soon get more demanding and schedules will fill up quickly.
However, because it’s only the second week of the semester, you can use these few extra lighter-load days to your advantage to set goals for the semester.
How do you foresee this semester? How do you plan on coping with stress management? What kind of student do you want to be this semester? What kind of friend do you want to be?
These were all questions that came to mind when I crafted my simple three-word resolution, “have more fun.” When I say, “have more fun,” I don’t necessarily mean going out more or doing more social activities. Although that is also important for having fun, what I really mean is changing my mindset and seeing every task as an opportunity to have fun.
Throughout 2011, especially during fall semester, I struggled with stress management and completing daily tasks began to feel like a chore. I started to see school, work, extracurricular activities and even some social events as stressful burdens — far from fun. Our college years are supposed to be some of the best and most enjoyable years of our lives and I was starting to waste them away by getting stressed out and not enjoying myself.
It’s 2012 and I am not going to let my old, stressed-out self get in the way of seeing the opportunity to have fun in all situations. For example, whenever I have to complete a project, write a paper, go to work or attend class — I can see an opportunity to have fun in each of these situations.
Now I must admit, a few times I have already felt myself slipping and beginning to feel stressed. But as soon as I catch myself, stand back and evaluate the situation, I can remind myself that I am allowed to have fun. Life doesn’t need to be stressful and no task is too large or too important to completely dismiss the enjoyment.
Although my personal resolution may not be appropriate for everyone’s situation, my point is that it is never too late to make a goal or a resolution and envision what you want and how you want to show up this year/semester.
We are only three weeks into 2012 and we have 49 weeks to go. There is a lot of time to recreate a resolution and make it more meaningful. And the beauty of recreating your resolution is that you can edit it and change it as the year progresses.
Only you are in charge of how you plan to show up this year. It is not too late to begin evaluating your lifestyle and making changes to your 2012 resolution.
