Just Sayin’: New Year, New Resolutions

Well, here we are. 2015. I recently watched the “Back to the Future” trilogy, and if any of you are familiar with those movies, you would know Doc Brown takes Marty to 2015 in the second movie. October 21, 2015, to be exact. That is still a few months away, but we have a long way to go to live up to those expectations. No one has a flying car or hover-board. “Jaws 19” is probably not quite in the making yet. Although, I did hear Nike is potentially releasing a pair of shoes that “tie” themselves exactly like the ones from the movie. So there’s that.

As with any New Year, most of us have made some sort of resolution. A lot of you have probably made a resolution concerning health or fitness. Eat better. Exercise more. Stuff like that. Maybe a few of you have other resolutions more focused on your spiritual life or productivity. Some people may have plans to simplify or to spend a little more time in solitude.

And then there are always those who decide not to make a resolution. If that’s you, I would like to encourage you to make one. It’s not too late. You will miss every shot you don’t take. I know it’s cliche, but a sure sign of failure is to not even try.

For those of you who have made resolutions, I would like to present a few tips. These may not be applicable to everyone, but I would challenge you to take them into consideration.

1. Write your goal down and put it somewhere you will see it on a daily basis.

Tape it to your door. Put it as the background on your phone. Writing it down will give you a concrete goal to strive for. Seeing it every day will serve as a reminder for what you are trying to attain. If want, you can even write the reason or reasons you want to work towards that goal underneath.

2. Tell someone who will keep you honest about your goal.

Don’t just tell anyone. Tell someone who cares about you enough to call you out about your goal. Life is not a solo act. Other people have been placed in your life to help you grow as a person. Yes, even those people who annoy you. I hesitate to use the word accountability because that’s a scary word to a lot of people. But having someone there for you will greatly increase your chances of achieving your goal.

3. Get uncomfortable.

I recently read an article where the author claimed one of the reasons we as a culture are so unhappy is because our society has equated comfort with happiness. He believes we have reached point where we are so comfortable we are unhappy.

When you think about it, isn’t that why our resolutions fail? We resolve to do something, but the minute it becomes uncomfortable we give up. Let’s change that. Step outside your comfort zone. It’s the only way to grow.

4. Don’t be afraid to fail.

This ties in a lot with the last point. We have this notion that failing is a bad thing and successful people don’t fail. But that simply isn’t true. Failing means you attempted something, and I would much rather have my life be marked by failure because I reached for something than to have never reached at all.

This is a new year. Each day is a new day. It’s almost as if someone planned a bunch of opportunities for us to have a clean start. Let’s have a reputation other than the “snuggie generation” as we were called in chapel. It’s a new day. What are you reaching for?

Erik Johnson is a senior journalism major and columnist for Cedars. He competes on the track team. Follow him at @walkingtheedge9.