I find myself saddled with the same mantra every New Years Day: “new year, new me.” Yet despite setting goals for myself every year, the only significant change I’ve implemented from one year to the next was when I was six and I tugged and twisted my front tooth until it popped out during the annual ball drop. That January’s mantra might have been better suited as “new tooth, new me.”
I don’t fully subscribe to the original saying “new year, new me” anyways. If I truly wanted to be a new me come January first, I would need to have ingrained my goals as habits beforehand. Starting January already settled into my new-me-routine would make much more sense. That way, I’d be a true version of the new me — one dedicated and accustomed to any new diet or deed. So, my challenge began in December: “75 Hard.”
If you’re unfamiliar with this challenge, here’s a rundown. For 75 consecutive days, you must drink one gallon of water, complete two workouts (45 minutes each, one must be outside), follow a diet (no cheat days), no alcohol, take a progress photo every day, and read 10 pages of a non-fiction self-development book. If you fail, you restart from the beginning. Pretty daunting, I admit, but I wanted my new-year-new-me to have these habits set in stone.
Looking forward, the holiday season seemed to be the most difficult trial. Gingerbread, candy canes, and so many more sweet cheats are available to tempt me. But another well-known saying kept me motivated. “There’s never a good time” — it’s better to start now. There will always be a birthday party with cake or a vacation or whatever standing in the way of completing the challenge. Biting the bullet, I started my new routine.
After the first day, I felt accomplished. After the second, determined. I found that going from napping for a few hours each day to a day full of activity helped me feel more productive and content with myself. I also spent more time outdoors, which soon became my favorite part of the challenge. I noticeably felt happier. My screen-time went down, and my independence blossomed.
Then came finals. I hunkered down to study, realizing this would be much more difficult than resisting a few holiday treats. I found myself struggling to keep to the routine while spending so much time in the library going over lectures and notes. I failed the challenge. But instead of giving up entirely or restarting from day one, I decided to modify the challenge. I wanted to make sure that it’d be manageable as a student and also maintain similar goals to what I set for 75 Hard. I settled on keeping everything the same, just reducing the workouts to one time per day, and one rest day each week. Finals came and went, and I felt much better about the progress of my habits.
For me, this challenge became a gift to myself. I would maintain a daily routine to create better habits by the new year, but would also allow myself a bit more leniency as I accustomed to time management. Going on runs along Campus Point and the lagoon instead of the inside on the Rec Center’s treadmill brought me the gift of sun and the time to watch surfers during a short rest. Reading non-fiction self-improvement books helped create a productive mindset and gifted me goals for my future. These habits have become less of a challenge and more of reward.
I’ve come to understand that to be happier, I needed to have goals to complete each day. By holding myself to a standard, I am grateful for a day that felt worth living and well-spent. For this year’s new year’s resolutions, don’t get lost in the long-term goals, but focus on the daily ones. Make sure that you stay consistent. Make happiness your habit.