Creating S.M.A.R‘T.

Listed: 10 resolutions

that will be broken

in the ne

-& Brittney MacDonald :
i Life & Style Editor
” lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca

hat’s a new year without

resolutions? Personally,
I never make them, mostly
because my determination is
only as strong as my ability to
remember what my resolutions
were, which in case you haven't
guessed, is pretty terrible. But
still, people go on and make
their goals regardless and then
fail miserably by the time 2017
rolls around. So here’s a list of
resolutions that will probably
be broken in the new year.

1. Goto the gym. Everyone
makes this resolution at
some point, and barely
anyone follows through
with it. Truth is, if you have :
to wait until New Year’s :
Eve to tell yourself you 3
need to get in shape, youre :
already procrastinating
and off to a bad start. Plus,
the gym is like another
dimension where people
go to work by choice.

2. Eat healthier. No, this is

dumb. You might make that :

resolution, but the next
morning when youre all
hungover, the only thing
youll want is poutine.

3. Get outdoors more. This

type of resolution is usually :

made by people who used
to be excited by the idea of

indoor recess back in grade :

 

w year

school. You're a basement
dweller, own it! No matter
what your life goals are,
no amount of scenic vistas
will compare with a comfy
couch, a warm blanket,
and a really good book.

4. Drink more water. Why?
There's water in coffee.

5. Pamper myself more. The
only people that make this
resolution are people that
already pamper themselves
too much, and the ones
that should probably make
this resolution are too
hard-working or selfless
to recognize that they
should probably pamper
themselves more.

6. Study more. This is a big
one while going through
post-secondary education.
College/university is
expensive, and the moment
you realize that is probably
going to be the moment
that you decide to stop
treating it like high school,
and get serious about
things. Will that time be
at midnight on December
31 at some random party,
with a beer bong in your
hand? Probably not.

7. Drink less alcohol. This
is usually the resolution
that you tell your friends
at brunch the day after
New Yeatr’s Eve, before you
wolf down a greasy Grand
Slam in the hopes that it

10.

will absorb some of the
alcohol you consumed

the night before. It’s

a good effort, but will
ultimately be lip service.
Party more. There are
three types of people in the
world. Those that actually
do party, those that define
“party” as reading comic
books or inviting their
bros over for a Dungeons
and Dragons campaign,
and those that deny that
they will come to define
“party” as reading comic
books or inviting their
bros over for a Dungeons
and Dragons campaign.
Only the latter two types
of people make this
resolution, so if youre part
of the third group, accept
your nerdism and roll a D6.
Love each other forever.
This resolution is usually
made by couples who are
doomed to break up the
week before Valentine’s
Day so that they don’t have
to buy each other a gift.

Be happy. The new year is
going to bring with it the
same baggage that the last
year had, so if you haven't
dealt with that yet, it’s
probably time to unpack
before making vague and
cliché resolutions that no
one (not even yourself)
will be able to tell if you’ve
accomplished come 2017.

Image via thinkstock

goals in 2016

» How to keep and follow your New Year's

Resolutions

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

MM?” of us create goals

every year—resolutions to
improve our lives and ourselves.
These resolutions come in many
different variations; they may

be related to our schooling or
jobs, focus on self-growth and/

or acceptance, or be delegated
towards a specific task. A common
problem with making these goals
is simply that they're difficult to
keep track of and follow through
on. A few weeks into 2016, and
our resolutions are forgotten

and abandoned. There’s no
self-improvement, and we go
through the year letting ourselves
down by not accomplishing

the goals we envisioned.

Ultimately, the power to
make and keep goals comes from
within us. By successful planning,
evaluation, and execution,
it is possible to meet or even
exceed our own expectations
about what we wanted. It’s all
about keeping perspective and
realizing our exact intentions.

The S.M.A.R.T. model isa
popular method when it comes
to accomplishing goals, and
it’s taught everywhere from
elementary schools to corporate
offices. It involves five aspects of
setting a goal: it must be Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Realistic,
and Time-based. One of the most
common reasons a resolution isn’t
kept is that it isn’t planned out
properly enough—it’s important
to figure out exactly what is
desired from each component.

A popular New Year’s
resolution is to exercise more. “To
exercise more” is not a viable goal
in itself, and there’s no real reason

atv
iD

z -4

: to keep it. If your goal is to exercise
: more, use the S.M.A.R.T. criteria to
: break the resolution down further.

Specific: Does “exercising

: more” mean going to the gym
: three times a week? Going for
: jogs twice a week? Signing up for
: aclass at the gym or at school?

Measurable: How will you

: know when youre exercising

: more? Are you keeping track of

: what days you exercise now and

? when you will in the future? What
: results are you hoping to notice

: (weight loss, a larger bicep, a

: general feeling of being healthier?)

Achievable: What factors

: limit you from exercising? Does
: school and/or your job take up all
: your time? Do you have regular

: access to a gym and proper

: shoes and clothes to exercise

: in? Consider what is needed

: toachieve your goal, and make

: sure you're able to actually go

: through with it. It may sound

: silly, but many goals fail because
: it’s impossible to achieve them

: under a person's circumstances.

Realistic: What do you

: want from exercising more?

: You may not be able to lose 20

: pounds in a month, or suddenly
bench press 50 pounds extra.

Time-based: A goal does

: not go from not starting to being
: completely finished. Realizing

: how long it will take, and what

: steps can be taken along the

: way, will really help towards

: getting them done. If your desire
: is to go to the gym regularly,

: consider setting up a goal like “By
: the end of January, I will have

: a gym membership and have

: gone twice.” Goal time can be

: adjusted at any point, but having
: a specific timeline is essential

: for letting them not drift off.

“Courtney +

The fact that | got accepted to
college today es @@ee