Re-evaluating goals and keeping perspective
It’s nearly the end of February! We’re 2 months into the year. Think back to New Years and the goals you set and ask yourself the following questions:
How are you doing?
Have you achieved any yet? Are you on track to?
How have you got to where you are so far? How do you plan to keep going?
If the answer to these questions is’ yes I’m doing great, I have achieved some and on track to achieve others, I worked in a certain way to get to this point and will continue to do so’, then great! For many of us though, a lot of the New Year’s spirit and momentum in going for our goals might be drying up or may have already dried up. So how do we combat this and get back on track? The key is persistency. Never stopping no matter what. Although under the current circumstances, having a regular schedule is almost impossible especially for students, any form of regularity will help with motivation, whether it’s as simple as getting up at the same time or going on a walk everyday before breakfast. Of course, some days are going to be far more productive than others, and that is completely fine, but it's important to never lose sight of the end goal.
Your health, mentally and physically, is of the utmost importance right now, so perhaps think about readjusting your goals or creating new goals to take this into consideration. If you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, try taking some things off your plate or extending deadlines to give yourself time to breathe and relax. Your goal will most probably have also changed this year, for example, instead of trying to go to the gym everyday, perhaps just settle for a brisk walk everyday. The aim of goals is to give you something to work towards and achieve to better yourself, but not cause yourself extra anxiety, so make sure you are constantly reevaluating your goals and checking in on yourself.
Perspective is also important - although you may find yourself unable to work towards your short-term goal in the way that you had imagined, this will not always be the case in the future. Think about what you can do now to enable your future self to work towards these goals more effectively. Perhaps it means achieving your goal in a completely different way, or setting new different goals or doing things online or virtually. Try to be resourceful and make the most of the few good things the pandemic has brought us, for example, if you are no longer attending school physically, think about the things you could do with the time you are saving on commute. This situation will not last forever, so remember that although life seems bleak now, there is light at the end of the tunnel!