Forum Writer

“This must be it. Welcome to the New Year.”  It’s the opening line to one of my favorite Motion City Soundtrack songs, and I suppose I may have just been looking for an excuse to use it.  Regardless, it’s a new semester here at Valparaiso University School of Law.  On top of that, it’s also the New Year.

What that means for many of us is that we have committed ourselves to change.  Resolutions are popular.  We find an element of ourselves that we dislike, and hope to alter it in some way for either our own fulfillment, or possibly to make someone we care about more happy.

These promises typically embody the same themes.  To study more.  To drink less.  To finally quit smoking.  Sometimes resolutions are much more narrowly tailored to an individual and break the archetype. Sometimes a group of friends pledge themselves to a cause together, either for fun, or to share each others’ strength if the task is harrowing.  Sometimes resolutions are just wacky.

Yet, many times we find ourselves making the same promises that we did last year.  One way or another, people breach their resolutions.  The gym gets too expensive, or the nicotine wins out.  Such is the way of life.

But that does not always have to be the case.  We have 365 days in 2010.  It’s a long time, all things considered, to accomplish our resolution.  So, after some Internet research and personal reflection, here are a few tips I thought were useful in ultimately fulfilling your New Year’s promise.

First, try to keep your resolution in the proper scope.  If you promised to lose 20 pounds by summer, don’t burn yourself out by getting rid of the weight as quickly as possible in January and February.  Assuming you turn into a gym superhero and actually do drop the pounds, what will happen?  Do you stop going because you hit your goal?  A lot of people might.  Summer comes around, and you’re right back where you started thanks to unfavorable long term habits.  Steady as she goes is the name of the game.  Change is hard, and only a gradual implementation of our new  behavior into our old selves will make sure that the changes sticks.  It’s far too easy to get into something intensely for the short term, only to regress once we become placated.

Second, it may be better to postpone your resolution for a few months.  Personally, I don’t think you’re being unfaithful to your promise by giving yourself some extra starting time up front.  If Moot Court or Legal Writing or Trial Advocacy is swamping you right now, wait a few weeks.  Over working yourself now is just going to frustrate you.  You’re not dealing with a recipe for success if you’re incredibly stressed and you want to stop smoking.

Third, find someone to hold you accountable. The more people you tell your resolution to, the more people will ask how far you have progressed.  In short, it can be an effective way to motivate you to keep up your hard work.  If you’re really committed to the cause, do what I’m doing.  Get some of your close friends to harass you constantly to make sure you keep working at your goal.  Bonus points if you set up a penalty (i.e., you owe those friends a high-class dinner) if you wimp out and don’t reach your goal by December 31, 2010.

Fourth, on the opposite end of suggestion three, don’t be afraid to reward yourself along the way.  And if you actually do accomplish your resolution, do something big for the sake of the new you.  Such hard work should not be overlooked or its importance dismissed.  Even smaller resolutions deserve at least some sort of recognition for their completion.  For many people, change is much easier to accomplish if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.  A juicy reward to yourself might give you the incentive you need to push through a difficult time when you’re contemplating abandoning your promise.

It’s inevitable that anyone who attempts to change an aspect of him or herself will start doubting the merits of why, exactly, he or she started this change in the first place.  So my fifth suggestion is that you make a list to remind yourself just why you want to achieve your New Year’s goal.  Be it a higher GPA, fitting into that new dress by Barrister’s, or adding a few years to your life, write down why you’re working so hard.  Reading your reasons over and over will reinforce why they’re still important, and why all the sweat and tears are worth it.  If you think of more during your change, add them to the list too.  Just because you see more reasons for change during the transition doesn’t make these brand-new reasons any less valid than the original ones.

So, it’s a new year and new semester.  Here’s to hoping that 2010 will be better than 2009.  The Forum would like to wish everyone good luck this year, not just on honoring their resolutions, but in every aspect.  We really do appreciate your readership, and we’re looking forward to covering another academic year for you all.

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David is a 2L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu