Here's Looking at You, 2021.

Let's not dwell on 2020 too terribly much; it's sufficient to say that it's been a rough year no matter who you are. I don't know about you, but I am SO ready to say adiós to 2020. 

Me, to 2020.

In just a few short hours, it will be a whole new year, shiny and full of potential. In the spirit of new beginnings, it's time for some new intentions. (AKA New Year's Resolutions™, though I stopped calling them that a couple of years ago.) 

In the field of education, we talk a lot about something called a growth mindset. In a growth mindset, failures are seen as learning opportunities and personal traits as a "starting point for development." For example, a person with a growth mindset might fail a math test and say, "Okay, let me look back at the problems I've missed and see if I can figure out how to do them correctly so I'll get better at this type of problem. I'll ask my teacher to help me with the ones I can't figure out." (By contrast, in a fixed mindset, a person's traits and qualities are perceived as unchangeable, and failures are, well...failures. I.e., "I failed that test because I'm not good at math.") Focusing on perfection (or lack thereof) can be very disheartening. A growth mindset is empowering because it focuses on making progress, which everyone is capable of making, rather than an unattainable standard of "perfection," which almost certainly means failure one way or another.

If you're setting goals for self-improvement, congrats! You're already incorporating some principles of the growth mindset. 🎉 Now let's take a closer look at the goals you're setting...

A few weeks ago--during a faculty meeting of all things!--I had a bit of an epiphany in terms of personal development. In a segment about the best ways to correct and redirect students' behavior, including our tone, body language, word choice, and more, we were reminded to focus on the behaviors that we want to encourage, not those that we want to discourage. Whatever we give our attention to is what will continue.

If you've ever failed at a New Year's Resolution™ or any other goal (I say "if," but if you say you haven't, you and I both know you're full of s***) it may have been because you had a negative focus, e.g. "Stop eating junk food." To rephrase this goal using positive language, try something like, "Replace unhealthy snacks with healthy ones, and intentionally choose my 'treats.'" Now you're concentrating on the behavior that you want to establish and continue, rather than the one you want to quit. This makes it easier to focus on and celebrate your successes, rather than beat yourself up over "failures." 

And, as in a growth mindset, remember to look at your "failures" as learning opportunities. For example: Why did I eat that entire bag of Cheetos? Because I was completely engrossed in "The Queen's Gambit" and didn't realize how much I was eating. What could I do differently next time? Well, I could pour out some Cheetos into a small bowl to exercise portion control, or swap them out for guilt-free baby carrots. 

Another way to revamp your New Year's goals? Try SMART goals:

Specific - "Get in shape." 👎 "Get at least 3 twenty-minute workouts a week."👍

Measurable - How will you track your progress toward your goal?

Achievable - If you've never run a mile in your life, don't expect to run a marathon in February.

Relevant - Why are you setting this goal? You've got to have a good reason to help keep you motivated!

Time-Bound - Having checkpoints for yourself will help track your progress, keep you motivated, and provide opportunities to re-evaluate as needed.

For me personally, I've found that large goals with smaller steps built in to each tends to work best for me. (See my 2019 Goals & Intentions.) That being said, this past year has been an education in terms of realizing simultaneously how much and how little I can control. There are still a lot of unknowns going into 2021, and considering how far off the mark I was with how I thought 2020 was going to go, I'm not even going to attempt to predict what this upcoming year will look like.

So my 2021 Mantra, if you will...

I will direct my energies toward what I can control 

& let go of what is beyond my control.

 

Global pandemic? Largely beyond my control. What I can control is wearing my mask, social distancing, etc. to keep myself and others safe and healthy. Whether my gym is open: not within my control. Being a total couch potato all day or going on a 20-minute run and then becoming a couch potato? I can control that. Whether we teach online or in person? Beyond my control. Setting and maintaining work-life boundaries either way? That's something I can control.

But the biggest thing within my control which influences all else: my mindset. Though there are a LOT of circumstances beyond my control these days, my attitude and my reaction to what's going on around me ARE within my control. When I catch myself with a negative attitude, I need to pause, pivot, and strive for positivity. Easier said than done, but it's something I'll be working on all year (and probably beyond).

All right, now it's your turn: take a moment to think about your goals for 2021. Have you already made them? Do you want to edit them? Go ahead and write them down somewhere. I'll wait. 

Seriously, take your time. 

 

All done and ready to start fresh tomorrow and every day after that? Yay! Break out the bubbly and get ready to ring in the New Year! 🥳

Let's kick start this year with a new attitude and new intentions.

2021, here we come!

Wanna share your resolutions/goals/intentions for the New Year? I'd love to hear them! ⬎