2020: New Decade

It's a new year which means it's time to experience more changes and growth. "New Year, New Me" has been the common cliche saying surrounding the holiday as people start planning their goals and resolutions, but "New Year, A Better Me" has started to become the new mindset for a lot of people in recent years, and I agree with the latter. 

By saying "new year, a better me", we focus on the idea that we just want to keep bettering ourselves in the new year. Growth does not happen immediately overnight. If your goal is to learn a second language, you are not going to immediately learn that new language by the next day. It takes focus, time, and sacrifice to be able to achieve your goals. 

To lead up to the new year, I watched various vlogs to find inspiration for how I wanted to improve myself. I came across Adrienne Bailon's recent vlog (Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m_OtYrebs4) post about her weight loss and the tips and advice she gave can be used for any type of goals and resolutions. Words have so much power, but the reality is that actions speak louder than words. It's definitely easy to say I'm going to do better in school this semester, but if my actions are not showing it, then the harsh truth is that it doesn't mean much. To achieve your overall goal, start off with smaller more realistic goals. With the example earlier, I said I want to do better academically. To do that, I can make a goal with myself to look over the material before my next class even if it's just for 15 to 30 minutes.

Another thing I realized about setting goals is to not be so hard on yourself. I know that when I do not accomplish a goal immediately or if I stop working towards my goal, then I give up completely and think negatively. It's so important that when you are working towards your goal that you are using positive self-talk at all times. Again, it takes WORK and TIME to accomplish a goal. Life is always going to have its fair share of obstacles and challenges, so it is important not to be so hard on yourself.

Setting goals with friends is also highly recommended! Having people who can keep you accountable is very important. We love encouraging friends! Each year I always try to meet with my friends and we write our goals down in a Google Doc or somewhere where we can all have access to it so throughout the year we can remind each other what we said we plan on doing for the year.

As 2020 is settling in, I'm so excited for what's in store. The New Year is always one of my favorite times because I love the feelings that it brings of making a better version of myself through the lessons and experiences that each year holds. 2020 is going to have some big changes for me. As nervous as I am, I'm also ready to start making each moment count, living in the present, and working towards my goals! Happy New Year and here's to a new decade of growth!