“Today I close the door to my past, open the door to my future, take a deep breath and step through to a new life.” –Unknown Author
As we enter into a new year, you might be asking yourself how you can make the most of it. How can you change your life to help you become your best self? Two things to ask yourself are: what do you want your life to look like and how will you create that life? Yes, this may sound too ambitious, but there are steps you can take to help jumpstart the process and make it attainable.
Step 1: Identify the important pieces in your life and create 1-3 goals for each piece.
When you think about what a life entails it can be quite extensive, so start with: school, friends, and well-being. For each one of these, you’ll need to identify the goals. For example, for school your goals may include: apply to at least 5 internships; get an A in chemistry; and connect with one faculty. You can use the 4 Year Plan for Career Success to help you with this one.
Step 2: Take an inventory of your problem areas, and find healthy ways to alleviate them.
Your problem areas may include; getting up late or procrastination. If this rings true for you, you may want to connect with a friend who will hold you accountable for getting up early or not putting off items on your “to do list.” You may want to invest in a planner or arrange your class schedule, so it forces you to get up early.
Step 3: Be patient with yourself and find your support team.
Of course, life will throw you some curve balls, so you’ll need healthy coping skills to power through them; this will help you build resilience and courage. Use friends, exercise, sleep, and new adventures as a way to help you move through hard times.
It may take the whole year to get you closer to your goals, but you’ll find strength through the journey, and that will last forever.
— Danielle Gallant, Sr. Career Counselor/Hub Manager, Career Center