Welcome back Warhawks! I hope everyone had a lovely Holiday season and a very merry new year! New years is all about remember the best of times in the old so you can embrace the new. There is that cliché sayings “new year, new me” which means to start the new year a new person or to be something better. I think that saying is a little far fetched. Everyone says they are going to be a new person and set “new goals” for themselves in the new year that most don’t even accomplish or continue after January. I believe that the new year shouldn’t be about a new you, but rather be “new year, renew me”, a more updated and continuous piece of work. 

Some friendly advice I can give to you readers and that I am using for myself is to start the year off strong and to just revamp yourself, not create a whole new you. If you’re creating a “new me” you’re 80% more likely to drop your resolution by the second week. By sticking to who you are and making some modifications whether they are short term or long-term goals, you are more likely to follow through and improve who you are. Below are a couple ways to stick to who you are and accomplish your goals without feeling like you need to be a new person to do so. 

1. Have your goals be really narrow and specific. Make them your SMART goals and the more specific you are, the more you will actually accomplish. For example, instead of saying you want to lose weight, write how much weight you want to lose. 
2. Have meaning and thought behind each of your goals. The more thought and personal your goal, the more drive you have to accomplish it. 
3. Have positivity in your goals to avoid temptation and have more willpower. 
4. Set your goals, then aim higher. Once you set your goals, you should work to achieve them if not exceed them. For example, if you are wanting to run a mile, aim to do a marathon. 
5. And for the last piece of advice, focus on you and the process. Improve yourself one step at a time and remember why you are doing it. Achieve the unknown 

Do what is best for your Warhawks and embrace the new year with the new and improved you. Don’t be a whole new person just because it is a new year. The more you stick to yourself and just revamp you, the more likely you are to accomplish those goals. You can set goals over night, but it takes time to accomplish them. So put the hard-work in, be specific and do it for you! You got this, Warhawks!

Emma O’Connor

Start Strong, Finish Stronger