Sticking with a New Year's resolution    

Dear Aggie, How can I make sure I commit to my New Year’s resolutions this year? I always find myself losing motivation or slipping up and was wondering how to keep it up when things get tough. - Sue D. Nym

Well Sue, it looks like you’ve already taken a couple of steps towards your goal of… keeping with your goals (funny, ain’t it?).

Two great ways to keep up with the resolutions that you’ve already made are to identify your past struggles and to seek assistance or accountability. 

Let’s get on with the advice you actually need, though. Since you didn’t mention your resolutions, I’ll have to make some assumptions.

Losing motivation is common when your resolutions are either too long-term or vague. Breaking your goal into smaller, more manageable goals can remedy this. Since these goals are often more specific, there is more noticeable progress to motivate you.

The easiest way to stay motivated is to see progress; well, technically it’s to “stay positive” but that’s too vague to actually help. Seeing progress through your short-term goals is how you stay positive.

The most important thing to remember is that slipping up isn’t the end of your resolution; we’re human, and we mess up sometimes. If your goal truly matters to you, and I’m assuming it does if you cared enough to submit a question, then slipping up shouldn’t mean giving up entirely.

Keep at it; big changes take time to see through, and there are bound to be a few hurdles to overcome in all that time. Try not to focus on your shortcomings and try to focus on the little victories. Every short-term goal is one step closer to achieving whatever your resolutions may be.

For those of you my words reached and are thinking, “Hey, I want to make a resolution now!” you’re a little late; it’s February now… But it’s never too late to make a lifestyle change in my book! Why wait for next year? If you have the drive, go for it!

As a special little treat to y'all, here are a few popular resolutions for college students you may want to pick up.

Make some effort to spend more time with your loved ones, be they friends or family; take up a new hobby or learn a new skill you’ve been wanting to; and my personal favorite, save money.

That last one may seem a little vague, and it is, so I’d recommend starting small. Cut back on your splurging and save with a specific goal in mind. I’m not talking about a retirement fund here, even if that would be phenomenal to start saving for.

Start by saving a small amount that you desire and gradually increase it; this will help cultivate the habit before it becomes natural.

Best of luck keeping up with your resolutions, Aggies. Remember, Rev and I are rooting for you!

The Dear Aggie column will answer questions on all matters of interest to students at TAMUG. Submit a query by emailing tamugnautilus@gmail.com. Names will be kept confidential.