New Year's Resolutions

By Beth, 20 - 5 Jan 2016

New Year's is a great opportunity to look back on all you’ve accomplished over the past 12 months and what you want to achieve over the coming year.

My birthday is on 2 January so instead of New Year’s resolutions I create a list of new experiences to try and other things I want to accomplish within my year. This year my “20 Before 20” list consisted of different things to get the best out of my year and better myself, including reading 20 books (something I enjoy but lack the time to do), increase my fitness level and enter a 10km fun run (I’ve now done three this year, but have discovered I enjoy walking more, so next year’s list will include walking a half-marathon), and to have a go in a mana ball, which is one of those balls you walk in on water.

The best part of making a list is getting to try new things, such as mana ball walking, trying to surf in a hailstorm, and eating an interesting Korean dish (that was a real experience). There are so many cool things that Christchurch has to offer that you might never have done before.

To make your own resolutions think about what you enjoy spending time doing, then something you want to improve on, such as trying to be more grateful, improving your spelling etc.

For me, many small goals feel more rewarding and fulfilling than one huge goal. However, if you have a big goal (graduation is on my “21 Before 21” list), create lots of small, related goals that help you achieve this bigger dream. This follows the SMART acronym for setting goals.

Specific – What exactly do you want to do?

Measurable – How will you know that you are making progress? Set some smaller targets within your overall goal.​

Attainable – Is this goal actually possible for you to achieve?​

Realistic – Will you be able to get this done given what your life is like at the moment?

Time-related – When do you want to complete your goal by?

Beth, 20

• Know yourself
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