Welcome to 2019!
I truly hope this will be your best year yet! Whether you are starting your teen years or starting to think about your college transition, this time of year is a great time to reflect on what 2018 brought you, but also what you want from 2019.
You can easily Google "New Year's Resolutions" and look for a list of ideas. Of course, getting healthy, become more organized, and read more books, seem to top the list. However, the best way to make and keep New Year's Resolutions is to make them 1) Attainable, 2) Have a Plan, 3) Share, and 4) Make them Personal. What I want may be completely different than what you want.
So here are my tips, no matter what resolutions you pick.
1. Attainable- Making goals that are attainable help with your self-confidence and feeling like you completed something. Make small goals inside of large goals so you do not feel discouraged. For example, if you want to run a half-marathon race, start with the goal of running 3 miles without stopping, a few weeks later add a fourth mile, and so on until you have met your goal.
2. Plan- Plan for your goals. Whatever they may be write them down so they are clearly visible everyday. A "Vision Board"or a journal help you stay on track and mark off small and large goals.
3. Share- Keeping goals to yourself makes it hard for you to be accountable for reaching those goals, and also makes it harder to celebrate your successes. I learned to crochet this year off of YouTube. While I have completely messed up multiple times, I found several communities that openly shared our mistakes and wins! I have found a unique group that supports my fun little habit and gives me ideas on how to grow the next time.
4.Personal-While your plan might not be to learn to crochet (you can seriously make some cool stuff!), it's what I have learned to enjoy and I have embraced it. You need to find resolutions that are personal to you. If you are not invested, both in time and energy, you simply won't be successful. So whether you want to learn a new language so you can travel on church/ school trip, or earn better grades so you have a chance at getting into your dream school, you have to make resolutions that are important to you.
Whatever your goals are, I wish you the best so you can be your best!
