As a college student, the winter season can be one of the most stressful times of the year. With finals, the end of daylight savings time and constant fluctuating weather, it can be difficult to stay motivated. However, that is the opposite of how one should feel during the “Winter Arc,” a TikTok trend that has gained serious traction over the last few months.
The “Winter Arc” is a phrase that has been around for quite a while on social media and is mainly centered around gym culture. Everyone’s Winter Arc can look different, but it usually revolves around being consistent with healthy habits like working out, eating healthy and generally being productive with whatever you have going on in life. It serves as a sort of “reset” before the new year and is meant to encourage self-improvement during one of the hardest times in the year.
However, is the Winter Arc truly achievable, or does it set unrealistic standards? Being a college student, balancing self-care with academic deadlines, personal responsibilities and seasonal stress can feel like a juggling act. Let’s break down the realities of the Winter Arc mindset and look at ways to make it more manageable.
I will be the first to say when scrolling through all the Winter Arc-focused posts on TikTok, I felt excited and motivated. Winter time for me is correlated with stress and tiredness, so it was nice seeing others experiencing those same dilemmas but pushing through to achieve their goals anyway. I felt ready to conquer personal goals on top of school work that I had pushed off earlier in the year in hopes of redirecting my mindset to a more positive path as the year comes to a close.
It is easy to look at videos on social media encouraging wellness and thinking about implementing it into your life with no problem. In reality, everyone has a different schedule, so what works for one person might not work for you. This is especially true with the overload of goals we expect ourselves to achieve in thought, but in reality end up failing.
For me, I struggle with perfectionism in my day-to-day life, whether it be academically or personally. This need for perfection hinders the goals that I set for myself, which is why I always struggle to stay motivated for the Winter Arc. In the beginning, I feel ready to take on the 5 a.m. morning workouts while also becoming an academic weapon out of nowhere. As each day passes, however, I feel more stressed out and drained than I ever did before.
While the Winter Arc can be inspiring, it often carries expectations that feel unmanageable. College students are already balancing a demanding load of work to complete for the end of the semester, which normally leaves little space for goal-setting and personal improvement. Expecting yourself to do a complete mindset shift when it comes to productivity is usually not feasible, which begins to add constant pressure on yourself for not doing “good enough.”
So what are some ways that the Winter Arc can be achieved realistically for the upcoming winter season?
In my experience, I would normally set an impractical number of goals for myself that I knew I would not be able to complete with my schedule. Instead, focusing on a small number of goals, or making a couple of goals less strict can help when trying to find a good balance. I would say that consistency is one of the hardest aspects of reaching a goal, but the easier it is to complete in the beginning the more it is going to become a part of your routine without question.
One of the most important factors of staying energized, motivated and consistent that we often forget about is getting enough hours of sleep. Late nights are nothing new for me in college, but I should not expect myself to be full of energy and ready to take on my day when I only get a couple of hours of sleep. Rest in any form is a necessity, which is why it is just as significant as other goals to maintain a healthy routine.
Self-compassion and self-improvement should go hand in hand when it comes to the Winter Arc. Most times when we do not reach everything we had set out in the day, we beat ourselves down. Reframing our mindset is one of the major factors in the Winter Arc, which also means turning negative thoughts towards yourself into positive ones. When doing this, I do not feel as defeated and have a better chance at completing my tasks, even if it is the second or third time around.
In the end, self-improvement doesn’t have to mean checking off big accomplishments. Sometimes it’s about learning to balance ambition with self-care. The Winter Arc, when approached thoughtfully, can be a time to not only accomplish goals but also to recharge and set a solid foundation for the new year ahead.