Whenever a new year starts, people always make resolutions about how they will make that year “their year.” But for the most part, these resolutions fall through. Life gets busy, and people fall back into the typical habits that they’ve had for their entire life. But if there is one thing that you can (and honestly should) do in 2018, it’s try and be more positive. It doesn’t take much, and here are some ways I’ve been trying to make 2018 my year.
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One of the biggest challenges for me was admitting that I can’t handle everything. Shocking, I know. We all have tendencies to bite off more than we can chew, and we end up drowning in a sea of obligations and stress. This year, I’m trying to shorten my limits. I’m trying to know when I just need to lay down and be alone for a while, or when I need human interaction or a walk around campus. Explore your limits, of course, but know that when you’ve gone too far it’s okay to take a step back.
Constant reminders of the good things in my life have also helped me feel better about this year. My best friend gave me a journal to write down positive thoughts, and this year I finally cracked it open and wrote things down. While it may be easier to write down positive things on great days, I’ve been trying to focus on finding positives on average or less than great days. That way, I start to develop a mentality that there is always a light somewhere; I just have to find it.
Finally, I’ve been trying new things. I’ve found that I tend to do the same things every week of the year, and I finally got sick of it. That’s why I try and do one thing a week that I wouldn’t usually do. And I’m not talking crazy stuff, like skydiving (although crazy things are good when you’re ready for them). I’m talking about little adventures with the people I care about the most–short walks to a new store in town, going to a new restaurant, watching a movie I never thought about. All of these mundane things make my life just a little bit better. And in the end, that’s all that matters.