Setting Goals for the New Year

I've always found that just days or weeks after I set my New Year's resolutions, I end up losing them. It's not always because I'm lazy or lack discipline, but, rather, I struggle with keeping a positive mindset.

I always feel so pessimistic just days into my goals, and never really give them time to flourish. This is partially because if you expect the worst to happen, when it does, you won't be hurt.

Someone once told me that you always win if you're a pessimist because if you say you'll lose, and you lose, you win, and if you, on the off chance, win, you win. There is no losing to being pessimistic about life.

The problem with pessimism is that eventually though, you do lose. You lose because, over time, you stop trying for anything in the long term. You lose the hope that should be a fuel for you to continue aiming for your goals.

Setting goals for the New Year is harder than just simply saying, "I'm going to lose five pounds," or, "I'm going to drink more water." It's about telling yourself consistently that, "this is a work in progress," and, "I'll see the results eventually." It's also about removing negative thoughts such as telling yourself that, "I can't do it."

Sure, it may seem difficult now, but positive self-talk goes a long way in achieving your goals, and can even help you in other aspects of your life. It's okay to have a healthy does of realism when setting goals, but you should never put yourself down.

For example, last semester, I told myself I was going to get a B in Greek. Normally, I set goals that exceed my realistic expectations because I always end up doing better than I think, but when I set this goal, I was being realistic and, well, slightly pessimistic. I set the bar too low for myself and eventually it caused me to lose hope and even take on a negative attitude towards the goal and eventually the class I was taking itself. There're were other factors in my life that went into the grade I got, but I ended up just scraping by with a D.

As this year comes to a close, and you start to think about what you want to achieve next year, think not only about what you want to do, but how you plan to do it. Not only that, but remember that reaching goals is a process that can sometimes seem overwhelming or impossible, but with the right attitude you can achieve a lot more than you ever imagined, and maybe even exceed your own expectations.