By Brianna Brinker, Campus News Editor
Most people have new year resolutions or aspirations they want to achieve when a new year arrives. Usually, it is the resolutions they didn’t really commit to in the previous year.
Setting goals for yourself is great, but what really happens most of the time is people start off by attempting these goals and later down the road; they don’t end up going through with them. One solution to help hold you accountable is writing down your goals.
Make it fun by going to a local cafe and writing down 100 goals for yourself. The amount might seem unattainable, but goals do not have to be big. Small goals are important, too.
For a college student, an example of a big goal might be “find an internship” or a small goal like, “do homework outside for the day.” As you complete these goals, you will find yourself checking them off and actually achieving them.
Having a physical list of what you want to do in the new year gives you the opportunity to look at it any time of the day. By the end of the year, you can see how much you accomplished.
Once you sit down and think about the many months you have in front of you, it becomes so easy to write down aspirations and dreams. It makes you want to do these things even more. Being able to see a goal on paper makes it more of a to-do list that you get to do.
Some examples of goals for college students can include:
- Make the Dean’s List in the spring semester.
- Form a new friendship.
- Go to an event at school.
- Put money into a savings account.
- Add a minor.
It is important to also have personal and exciting goals, this can include:
- Be more compassionate.
- Give someone a compliment.
- Pay for the person behind you in line.
- Take a trip somewhere new.
- Spend time with your grandparents.
- Learn how to play a new sport.
- Create at least three new meals.
- Find a sand dollar at the beach.
Throughout the year, checking off goals you set for yourself is so rewarding! All the way from the start of January to December, you can say that you accomplished so many things that you wanted too. Also, you can see what you didn’t get the chance to do and add it to next year’s list!
“Setting goals for the new year can be very typical. Sometimes, we want to put our expectations for ourselves at the frontlines, but it is important that as young Christian students, we remind ourselves that God’s expectations exceed our own. It can be difficult to make a resolution and stick to it, so it’s important that we set attainable goals and not burn ourselves out at the beginning,” said Tamar Olguin, a senior studying clinical psychology.
The goals you set for yourself for the year should be goals you truly want to pursue, not requirements for yourself or expectations you expect yourself to achieve or have right away. You should look forward to accomplishing your goals, not dread them.
“Small steps are still steps, and, overall, let God guide the continuation of the year,” said Olguin.
The impact of writing down your aspirations is so important and special because you are making small things important. Finding seashells or simply eating your lunch outside in the sun are goals you can set and help romanticize your life.
Setting those goals that seem impossible is important because you are not limiting yourself. By writing it down, it means it likely will happen rather than not writing it down at all.
Make your goals for this year. Get the grades you’ve always wanted, apply for graduate school, go on a trip with your friends, and get your degree. These are all dreams that you can make come true, not in the far future but this year: 2026!
