How large goals can actually do more harm by putting you one step forward and two steps back
I always look forward to January. I love the New Years and how it is a time of year where goal setting is prioritized.
But year after year, I’ve found myself either not committing fully to the goals I had set or not completing as many of the goals as I had wanted too.
During the peak of COVID, specifically during the new year of 2020, the act of creating a vision board gave me a chance to shed light on the year ahead in a new way.
Creating a vision board entails creating a collage with pictures, quotes and words that you would hope to make up the following year. It’s a simplistic and great way to reuse waste as well in the house.
As a student, it can become immensely difficult to set and stick to these goals, as one is at the point in their life where they are prioritizing their academics rather than dreams and desires.
One of my New Year's resolutions was to bake more. Unfortunately, I did not get to bake as much as I wanted to, as I found myself preoccupied by my academics and work. Many individuals often do the same, finding themselves with their hands full, which cuts back on many goals one could be achieving.
The difficulty of this task depends upon the relationship someone has to it. The same goal can be easy for one person and even more challenging for another, so it’s all relative; which is something our society does not even take into consideration with the commotion that is New Years.
The difficulty of this task depends upon the relationship someone has to it. The same goal can be easy for one person and even more challenging for another, so it’s all relative; which is something our society does not even take into consideration with the commotion that is New Years.
Something that is very crucial, which many individuals do not consider, is their lifestyle and who they are as a person. Every individual is unique; thus, every individual is driven and motivated in different ways from different things. Although one may assume they are setting a goal for themselves, a common mistake made is that the goal is either not as specific as it should be or too general.
Every individual is unique; thus, every individual is driven and motivated in different ways from different things. Although one may assume they are setting a goal for themselves, a common mistake made is that the goal is either not as specific as it should be or too general.
Setting a goal such as baking more is a great goal, but it is too broad for someone to stick to it. Creating some sort of consistency with it allows you to be able to track it and setting small, reasonable goals for you can drastically aid in achieving the goals you wish to.
Instead, set goals for how many times a week or month you would want to do this act and then you can get more detailed with your goals. Again, mine with baking: my goal can be to cook a dessert at least two times a month, then after some consistency, I can change my goal to not make the same recipe more than once or try a new ingredient each time I bake.
Therefore, giving yourself more personalized goals that fit your lifestyle as well as your needs will aid you to achieve them. Making sure that those goals are thought-out and detailed will also help you build consistency around them.
Although it may seem obvious, we tend to move with everyone else almost all the time. Vision boards allow us an opportunity to reflect on what’s important to us and it is important when we are doing activities for our own well-being that we are genuinely keeping ourselves in mind and no one else.
Travis Nguyen/Photo Editor
With three wins under their belt, the men’s basketball team has set their goals high
While many Canadian University teams have needed time to get back into the swing of things after a year off from playing, the Marauders Men’s basketball team has found themselves in the midst of a four game winning streak, starting the season blazing hot.
With their most recent win against the Algoma Thunderbirds on Nov. 19, the Marauders have found themselves sitting in second place with a four and one record, with their lone loss finishing with a one point spread.
Sefa Otchere, a third-year guard for the team, spoke about the team’s recent performance and the success they’ve had over the last stretch of game. In an interview Otchere discussed an event relating to an injury affecting a member of the team, emphasizing the optimism the team has regarding their future.
“I feel very good about the team's performance. I still feel like we have a lot more to go because right now we don’t have our full team. Some people are injured, but hopefully by the second half of the season we can get them back,” said Otchere
Discussing his own performance, Otchere felt that he could’ve played better for his team, despite averaging a relatively strong 10.4 points, 5 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting to a 41.9% field goal and an 84.6% free throw.
“Subpar honestly. I feel like I can do better to help the team win more. I feel like I can be better and hopefully I can pick it up a little bit in our last two games in Algoma and pick it up in the second half as well,” explained Otchere.
As he had hoped, he did pick it up in their first game against Algoma, extending their winning streak to four after an 18-point victory. Otchere scored 15 points, good for third most on the team, while hitting all his free throws, grabbing five boards and raking up three steals.
With so much time off from their previous season, it’s a challenge for teams to start themselves up again so quickly. Otchere credits the team’s success to their high standards and coach, Patrick Tatham.
“Training-wise, we pushed each other. We worked hard and worked with a common goal of getting to nationals. I think with that goal in mind we came in as a collective unit. Since Sept. 1, since [coach Patrick Tatham] came back from [coaching] team Canada we’ve all had the same goal: one mind, one body [and] one big family just working together,” said Otchere.
With a significant portion of their schedule still ahead of them, the team will look to continue their success down the stretch and into the new year. After completing their final game of 2021 against the Thunderbirds on Nov. 20, the team won’t see the court again until Jan. 12, 2022, when they will return for 10 more games leading up to the playoffs.
With championship aspirations on their mind, they will have a real opportunity to take the crown if they can keep up their recent performance and continue closing out important games into the new year.
Changing our approach to these goals can help us be more successful at New Year’s resolutions
With a new year comes a set of new and often entirely unrealistic expectations we set for ourselves: New Year’s resolutions. Approximately three-quarters of Canadians resolve to accomplish their goals at the beginning of each year, with the failure rate a dismal 80 per cent.
Year after year, people around the world look to the changing of the calendar as a sign of hopeful, positive transformation for their lifestyles and circumstances. How did such seemingly useless and quite frankly disappointing, ritualistic behaviour become entrenched in our daily lives? How can we make resolutions that actually work?
Apparently, human beings have practiced this particular brand of masochism since nearly the dawn of civilization. 4,000 years ago, the ancient Babylonians would make promises to the gods to repay debts and favours during their mid-March New Year’s celebration, Akitu. Keeping these promises would guarantee good luck and health while breaking them was sure to invite divine displeasure. If only we had such incentives today!
How did such seemingly useless and quite frankly disappointing, ritualistic behaviour become entrenched in our daily lives? How can we make resolutions that actually work?
Similarly, though a couple of millennia later, ancient Romans offered sacrifices and promises of virtuous conduct to the god, Janus — January’s namesake — in exchange for good fortune in the upcoming year. The practice continued with “peacock vows” in the middle ages, which were resolutions made by knights to uphold their chivalric values. By the 17th century, the habit of annual resolution-making had permeated the common social consciousness and was declared by yearly rituals such as New Year’s Eve spiritual services.
Despite their early religious origins, today’s practice of New Year’s resolution-making is a mostly secular and individualistic activity — concerned more with our ability to commit and achieve rather than chance or divine intervention.
The most common resolutions are decidedly unsurprising: in 2020, 51 per cent of Canadians wanted to exercise more, 49 per cent planned to save money, 48 per cent strived to eat healthier and 42 per cent hoped to lose weight. These goals have been topping lists for at least the last decade and their resilience speaks not only to our recidivism but also to the very nature of our desires themselves.
Making a resolution is important for mental health: having a goal to strive for helps overcome daily fatigue and is motivational. However, failing to live up to your goals — New Year’s or otherwise — can invite self-deprecation and psychological stress.
You can fall short of achieving your resolutions for any number of reasons beyond lack of sufficient commitment. The four main reasons why New Year’s resolutions fail are that they are too vague, they are framed negatively, they reflect societal expectations rather than your own desires or they are incompatible with your routine or lifestyle.
Since 2016, I’ve kept aside all my New Year’s resolutions lists and they are the spitting image of vagueness, negativity, social pressures and impracticality. From a whopping 37 resolutions in 2017 to assertions I would maintain a 12.0 GPA, to plans of learning four different languages in the span of a year, it’s no wonder I have persistently failed to achieve my goals — and thus felt thoroughly dejected every time.
But I haven’t given up just yet. Achieving your New Year’s resolutions is about more than just unwavering commitment, it’s about proper goal setting; a skill whose benefits extend beyond our infamous Dec. 31/Jan. 1 ritual.
The best resolutions are specific: they elaborate on the steps one needs to take to succeed. Unbeknownst to my 2019 self, I wouldn’t suddenly develop the ability to speak fluent Russian when the clock struck midnight. So unfair, am I right?
The best resolutions are specific: they elaborate on the steps one needs to take to succeed. Unbeknownst to my 2019 self, I wouldn’t suddenly develop the ability to speak fluent Russian when the clock struck midnight. So unfair, am I right?
Furthermore, New Year’s resolutions need to be realistic. No, 2018-self, you won’t be able to exercise four hours a day. It’s just not possible. Don’t set yourself up for failure — create ambitious but achievable goals that will make you feel successful while still making a difference in your life.
Lastly, making a good resolution is all about self-awareness. Achieving any long-term goal is directly concerned with the process of habit-forming. Creating a habit requires repetition — anywhere from 18 to 254 days of it, to be exact — and engenders a feeling of “automaticity,” which is the feeling of ease experienced when doing a familiar task.
When behaviours become automatic, they will become routine, undisruptive and habitual. However, forming a good habit requires the self-awareness to notice the environmental cues that facilitate the accompanying bad habit. If a certain place, activity, person or time prompts you to engage in the habit you want to break, recognize the signs and distance yourself or actively work to stay on track. Remember, it’s a process.
Though I haven’t managed to eliminate all traces of wishful thinking from my 2021 resolutions list, I’ve tried to introduce a bit more realism — a half marathon instead of a full marathon sounds about right, don’t you think? In truth, though, our goals matter less than our ability to forgive ourselves for not achieving them. It’s wonderful to aim for self-improvement; just don’t self-destruct along the way. Happy 2021!
By: Andrew Richards
Being on the other side of my five years here at McMaster, I cannot picture my journey any other way. Although there were times when things may not have gone as planned, there was never a moment in time where I felt like I was not in the right spot.
When I was first asked to write this article, I was kind of uncomfortable because I felt like it makes it seem like I have my act together when I really do not. I am just a senior university student who is still figuring things out. But these are the things that I have learned during my time at Mac and maybe they can help others, especially those who are just starting out on their journey.
One thing we are often told to do in athletics and academics is to set these goals for ourselves, especially big end goals. I used to be a big believer of that, and I have made my own goals, but I think there's a different way to look at it.
If you change your mind from, ‘I'm focusing on one big goal’ to, ‘what's one thing today I can get better at’, you are able to get more results. Instead of just chasing after one thing, you are also trying to make yourself better. For me, working on improving every day has made me go further. For example, instead of setting a goal of getting a certain grade, set a goal to study harder every day, and eventually you can reach that goal of getting the grade you want.
It sounds a little cheesy, but I think university is very hard especially as a first-year. Everyone experiences those moments where things really are not going well. So I think one thing that's really important, no matter what you're going through, is to be your own advocate and your own friend.
Things are not always going to go so well, so you have to be the first one to let yourself off the hook and forgive yourself. In the past, I have put a lot of pressure on myself and have been my own worst critic. Looking back now, I know that you cannot expect other people to forgive you or let you off the hook if you can't do that for yourself.
One thing that we are lucky to have at Mac is the amazing people that are around us. It is a lost opportunity for someone to try and get through four or five years on their own. Everyone you meet at McMaster, you can take something away for them. Whether it be by building a relationship with them, or by being inspired by them.
Even if you don't love stuff about them you can still learn from them, and it would be a disservice to yourself and to others to not take advantage of these connections.
This is something that I struggled with earlier on. Before I came into university, all the teams that I played on before I had a large role. But when I first got here, I was a small fish in a big pond. So it was difficult for me, and I'm sure a lot of other athletes, because you want to start feeling like you're contributing right away.
Though when I look back at the past five years, I am super proud of everything I have done with my team. I know now that everything happens in time and if you try to force things to happen when it is not time, it will not always work out the way you want it to. Don't be upset if things are not going your way right away, just know that you have time and if you have a plan, things will work out eventually.
One really important thing in all this is realizing there's no one way to do all of this. There's a lot of amazing people at Mac, but the coolest thing is that everyone is unique. As athletes, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to fit a mould, or to be a certain way.
Looking back, something I wish I allowed myself to do more was just be my unique self. I think it is exhausting trying to put on a face. After being around so many unique people at Mac, if I could go back and encourage my first-year self anything, it would be to just be myself.
I may not have it all figured out, but one thing I do know is that these five things are principles I am going to carry with me as I move forward in life. Whether I go on to play professional volleyball or into the work world, I know that if I always take these lessons with me, it will help take me to my next goal.
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By: Youssef El-Sayes
Choosing a degree and career path is not an easy task. Students pursuing a degree in science have a wide variety of available career options. These range from positions in research, industry, medicine, illustration and so much more. It almost seems like the possibilities are endless.
But how does one truly understand their goals without experiencing their options? Many professionals end up with a job that they thought would interest them but eventually learn otherwise.
This issue has become so commonplace that institutions like McMaster University have developed strategies to help students gain a variety of experiences outside of their chosen undergraduate program. A great example are the interdisciplinary experience courses, offered by the school of interdisciplinary science.
For a full credit, students can choose from a wide array of IE courses that cover topics such as three-dimensional printing, visiting Kentucky for a caving fieldtrip or hiking Algonquin park while learning about Canadian history, geography and literature.
IE courses serve the purpose of introducing students to a variety of disciplines that will help broaden their perspectives and opinions towards science. By providing students with active learning opportunities, they can develop a personal connection and a deep motivation for the subject.
The idea of active learning has been studied for decades. In essence, active learning requires students to be engaged with the delivered content while critically thinking about the activities they are working on.
Current research suggests that fostering engagement in class activities is more likely to improve student learning compared to simply spending extra time on a topic. This is why IE courses available at McMaster University consist of short workshops, field trips or tutorials that keep students motivated and prove that learning does not need to be time consuming.
These experiences are especially rewarding for students because they earn a credit for their work. The results of IE courses are also long-lasting. For example, upon completion of IE courses, many students often undertake related volunteer positions and internships, in order to put what they have learned into practice.
Aside from personal growth, IE courses also provide a multitude of professional benefits. Due to the small class sizes, students can engage in one-on-one interactions with instructors or guest speakers and build valuable networking skills.
These experiences also set students apart by giving them something distinct and unique to include on a resume. Overall, IE courses allow students to build on their academic, personal and professional qualities and become multi-faceted individuals.
McMaster University has always led the path for innovative teaching and learning, and offering IE courses is no exception. Students should always challenge themselves to step outside of their comfort zone in order to find their real interests and ambitions. By doing so, students can become professionals in their fields that truly love what they do.
It is clear that experiential and active learning opportunities are able to foster skilled and competent individuals who are willing to create a brighter future, and this is exactly what McMaster has been striving to do. So the next time you are enroling for courses, consider taking an IE class.
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When Coach Ptaszek was presented with the offer to be the head coach at a program he had called home for over 10 years, there was no way he could refuse.
“It wasn't just a job for 10 years, it was more than that,” said Ptaszek. “A lot has changed over the last two and a half years, but there's still a lot of the great people around the campus and football program which made it a very, very exciting offer, and something that I was extremely interested in.”
Ptaszek’s name speaks volumes when it comes to Marauder football. So though many players and supporters were not too happy about the letting go of previous head coach Greg Knox, the arrival of Ptaszek quickly changed that.
Being the only coach to lead the Marauders to a Vanier Cup championship in 2011, his reputation certainly precedes itself. Ptaszek also held the record for longest winning streak in U Sports (formerly known as Canadian Interuniversity Sport) history, 21 games, brought home three Yates Cups and was named the CIS Coach of the Year in 2012.
Football -- Stefan Ptaszek returns to @mcmasteru as @Marauderftbl head coach. #GoMacGohttps://t.co/LaotrQMLPq
— McMaster Marauders (@McMasterSports) November 28, 2018
For Ptaszek, his success can be linked back to his philosophy for leading a team: ‘Football Family’. Using his own experience as a university student-athlete as the blueprint, Ptaszek’s goal to ensure that those in the program see one another as a family is a part of what makes those under him do so well as a unit.
“It's not just 80 guys that get together to play games eight times a year, they have to learn to believe and trust each other,” said Ptaszek. “All of that, under the umbrella of a world-class education, helps them to hopefully leave this place with the tools to be successful forever. That’s the big picture here; winning football games is just a by-product of doing all these other things”
Ensuring that a team has a family bond after such a controversial firing is a difficult task, but for Ptaszek, he finds that the incident has made the team more tight-knit than before.
“When [the players] were not having much guidance in terms of who their next coach was going to be, I think it caused them to have to build a tighter relationship. But they're stronger now, and capable of great things,” said Ptaszek. “Coaches like Scott Brady and John Parkes have been instrumental at keeping this locker room focused, so moving forward I think I inherited a really great situation. I'm going to be smart enough to build upon the great things that are in place here.”
For Ptaszek, building on things that are in place means listening to the needs of the team first, by getting to know his new student-athletes.
“I've had at least one sit down with each player and we're planning another one,” said Ptaszek. “I'm also getting to know the quarterbacks better because quarterback play is a huge thing we have to focus on in the off-season.”
Working hard in the weight room and getting stronger in the winter, the Marauders who are one of few teams lucky enough to most likely be keeping a majority of their starters for the 2019 season, will not have to do a lot of rebuilding. With a small graduating senior class, the team is young with a bright future ahead.
“We have two seniors, Eric Blake and Jordan Lyons, that we may potentially lose to the CFL, but if we're lucky, they’ll be back for their fifth year,” said Ptaszek. “We're going to be a year older, smarter, bigger, faster, stronger and in a great position. McMaster wasn't broken when I took this job, so I'm excited to see where they go.”
Though they have very few players leaving, this has not stopped Ptaszek from adding to the recruiting that was done before he arrived.
“I’m trying to compliment Brady and Parkes to have a great recruiting class,” explained Ptaszek. “It's still early in the process, but we’re really excited about our recruiting class.”
With 23 commits so far, the 2019 recruiting class is shaping up to be a good one.
As for goals for the 2019 season, reaching their full potential is all Ptaszek wants out of the Marauders. With the standard of excellence in Ontario set by the Western University Mustangs, he aims to close that gap.
“This year we’re a bit better at every position, plus our great recruiting class that is coming in, so I think we will be able to achieve our goal of closing that gap of the provincial standard set by the Mustangs down the road," said Ptaszek.
“This means being better at offence, defence and special teams, and attention to detail in every area,” Ptaszek added. “When the Yates Cup is being played in 2019, the Marauders want to be on that field, and I think that’s a realistic goal.”
With weight training, quarterback play and recruiting well underway, the only thing missing is an offensive coordinator, after the departure of Tom Flaxman last week. Once that role is filled, hopefully, Ptaszek and the Marauders will be able to return to that level of excellence that Ptaszek is known for. Although we will have to wait for that first kick-off come August to find out.
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By: Takhliq Amir
With a New Year comes a new beginning, new opportunities, and the traditional New Year resolution. For many of us, the start of 2016 brought about a chance to once again bring out those handy notebooks, uncap the new ink pen, and begin creating a list of everything to achieve in the new year. We sat there, a giddy feeling coursing through us, as we pondered on the aspirations of this year and all the things we could possibly accomplish.
Every year in my life that passes, however, brings about rising doubts regarding the value of these resolutions. A small number of people actually fulfill their resolutions despite many with good intentions. Listening to the radio I heard a host comment, mocking those who attempt resolutions, and how no one can ever actually be expected to carry them out. Even my chemistry professor joked about the fleetingness of these promises. And yet we seem to have forgotten that that is what they are: promises.
Regardless of whether or not New Year’s resolutions are something to be adopted, they should be considered as promises to oneself. A New Year’s resolution might be overly ambitious, but it is also a challenge and a promise to yourself to work towards achieving a goal. It is a test of your own capabilities and a push at your personal conviction.
As humans, we are programmed to make excuses for our actions and behaviours that might, and are probably, a shortcoming. Nobody likes to admit failure, after all. As well, New Year’s resolutions, as a start to the year, give us something exciting, something exhilarating to look forward to. Imagine if, by the end of the year, I visit all 25 countries on my list! But they can also set us up for failure. And sometimes, while writing the resolutions might have been an invigorating experience, the failure of not achieving something produces a greater disappointment.
Every year in my life that passes, however, brings about rising doubts regarding the value of these resolutions.
I want to ask you then to not make New Year’s resolutions if you are not serious about them. There is intense satisfaction in fulfilling a resolution, which is easily spoiled by the carelessness with which they are perceived and pursued. New Year’s resolutions have become merely a symbol that welcomes in the year, a tradition that has been carried on from past generations and will likely be passed on to the next. Instead, think about the things you’d like to achieve today, tomorrow, even in the next week or month. But don’t lose sight of the end goal. These resolutions are worth as much as the fulfilling sense of accomplishment that achieving them evokes. So be ambitious and be daring, but also keep the promises that you make to yourself.
Photo Credit: Jon White/Photo Editor
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By: Emile Shen
Starting is the hardest part
As quickly as resolutions are made, they seem to be broken. How can we work on making those dreams into a reality, and unlocking the infinitesimal potential within us?
Newton’s first law of motion applies to setting goals too. Objects in motion, stay in motion. It’s about that extra force that’s the most difficult part; it requires extra motivation and effort to get your goals started. That is the most trying part.
Cut down the number of goals
Along with the hustle and bustle of day to day life, a long list of resolutions add to the stress. Whether this is making an effort to be more organized, start volunteering somewhere, go to the gym three times a week, and also preparing healthy meals for yourself – it adds up. If you limit yourself to a couple goals at a time, there is a higher probability that you will find them more achievable. Our cognitive resources are limited, after all.
Set smaller goals and check in
It may be easy to pick up bad habits but it requires a lot more effort and time to get rid of them. Concrete steps are the bridge that take you from just thinking about something to doing it. If you want to become more fit, find a workout buddy or rent a locker. If you want to quit smoking, don’t go cold turkey. Start by smoking one less cigarette per day, and gradually wean yourself off.
Hold yourself accountable
Something unique about humans is our ability to self-delude. It is easy to put things off until later and/or become frustrated at the lack of results. You can simultaneously embrace the now with a #yoloswag, #carpediem attitude (I’m sorry everybody), that helps you build towards a better future you.
Share your goals selectively
When you tell someone your goal, you receive social acknowledgment and praise for simply setting a goal. At this point, your mind has already tricked itself into believing that you’ve accomplished something, so you become less likely to work for whatever you were aiming for in the first place. However, when goals are kept to yourself, there is delayed gratification from when you actually work towards achieving them.
Annicalxobia. Don’t let this word frighten you too much, but please know that at least one loved one leads a semi-crippled life due to the toxic/generally inconvenient infliction of this phobia. Hold the phone. Literally. I don’t want you calling your mom and confusing her with the vague concern you might be feeling right now.
If you happen to be keen on the Latin language (that makes one of us), anni means “new year” and calx means “goal”. Put it all together with a tail end of “obia”, and we have a whole new word for conceptualizing the fear people have over the creation and maintaining of New Year's Resolutions.
Please note, you will not, probably ever, find this word in any dictionary.
Mostly this fear comes from mankind’s widespread inability to keep our resolutions for a month, let alone a year. In fact, according to the Toronto Star’s statistics on New Year's Resolutions in 2013, 52 per cent of us forget about our vow to run 10 km every morning, or have eight servings of veggies a day or even snag a spot on Forbe’s Top 30 Under 30. A paltry 19 per cent of us succeed in keeping it for a whole year (standing ovation if you’re in this category).
But why can’t we keep these resolutions? To start, resolutions hold the promise of an entirely new “you.” You may imagine yourself having completely transformed your life for the better, all because you now stand on a foundation of a myriad of hugely ambitious goals.
Let’s say you really want to successfully whip up a multi-layered rainbow birthday cake for the fam, but you can’t simply paste a picture of that damn fine cake to the fridge and hope everything goes as smoothly as you imagined in your dream where you took on the culinary prowess of Julia Childs. No, no, no. Underneath that picture, there’s a recipe.
And that’s what we need to remember when tackling any goal - there’s a series of steps that need to be followed, to achieve the simplest and loftiest of New Year’s Resolutions.
Let’s consider two resolutions. My resolution could be to start flossing every night, which is really made up of one step (1. Floss), or to become a runner, which is made up of many, many steps (see what I did there?). Even with something as seemingly simple as flossing, the power of habit should never be underestimated. After all, there’s a distinct set of habitual behaviors that we don’t even think about, including that thing we do after brushing our teeth that generally includes collapsing onto our bed without once considering the dental implications of never flossing.
The only way to get around this is to incorporate your resolution into a set of behaviors that become as habitual as crashing into your cozy bed. Flossing is inevitably easier to maintain, however, because this goal is in itself an action.
All of our wonderfully wholesome goals require that recipe of success. If you want to be a runner, start by scouring your schedule for consistent openings that you can dedicate to running. Try on your sneakers, run around in circles in your bedroom, and see how those babies feel. If they’re killin’ ya, consider buying a new or used pair of shoes. Already, running has required a substantial amount of effort in comparison to flossing, but no less possible in attaining! Besides, the more complicated a recipe, the yummier it can be (re: rainbow layer cake).
On another note, anyone attempting to overcome annicalxobia must understand the imminent setbacks they’ll face on the way to achieving their goal. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that rainbow layer cake wasn’t ready in an hour. There will be times you want to give up or maybe shed a single tear, but remember that you prepared for these setbacks. You knew they were coming and you prepared for them.
Make your goal visible on your bedroom walls or privately in a journal. Share it with your whole facebook feed or just your mom. Because if you chose a resolution that really means something to you, the most difficult part should be throwing it away.
Here’s to a 2014 where Mac students reach their New Year's resolutions.
Sarah O’ Connor / Silhouette Staff
Promises upon promises upon promises. “My New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight.” “My New Year’s Resolution is to ask out my crush.” “My New Year’s Resolution is to be a better person.”
It happens every year when that silver ball drops at midnight. Every year when lovers kiss for luck and the single cheer that vows this will be their year. Every person makes a resolution, planning on how to make this year the best year yet. But will it be the best? I’ve never been in the habit of making resolutions. From my foggy childhood memory, I remember being asked what my resolution would be for the coming year.
I shrugged my shoulders, unsure how to reply. How can you plan to change something in one year? I suppose it depends on the weight of the resolution. If it’s something small like losing weight, that is possible.A person can lose a significant amount of weight in a year, if they actually put the effort into losing weight.
If it’s something like asking out a crush it is also possible, but harder. It shouldn’t be so difficult to ask someone out, but it is when all a person can think about is looking like a fool, their stomach fluttering with nerves, anxiety pulsing through every fiber of their body. Asking that special someone if they “want to go on a date” would make walking into a volcano look fun.
And when someone says they’ll be a better person, that’s nearly impossible. How can someone change who he or she is in one year when they have been themselves for X number of years?
The truth is, every time someone makes a New Year’s Resolution, there’s a part of them that knows they don’t have to keep it.
I always feel that New Year’s Resolutions set us up for failure. Too many people use the easy cop-out that “there’s always next year.” And there is always next year until one year you’re old and wrinkled. This might be it.
Why don’t we look to New Year’s Resolutions as goals? True, they’re both basically the same thing, but goals set us up for success. Goals are attainable. We work hard to achieve our goals, but we push off resolutions. With goals, people are allowed to go at there own pace. With resolutions, we only have 365 days.
