A Happier, More Productive New Year

Time. Time is something everyone takes for granted, and after everything we went through in 2020, I have come to the realization that none of us really know how much time we have left. The hours upon hours we have spent scrolling through meaningless tiktoks and instagram posts suddenly catch up to us one day, and we find ourselves thinking "What could we have done better? What could we have spent more time on? Put more effort into?" All of us have things we love, passions we want to pursue, and dreams we want to catch, but most of us never bother to do anything with them. We are all inspirational individuals, with stories that intertwine together to create a whole complex universe that is constantly changing and evolving around us, yet we think of ourselves as insignificant beings. Why? This is the year we change. This is the year that every single one of us pushes ourselves to new heights. We climb one more ring of that ladder; we run that extra mile, study that extra term, work that extra hour, and we take that first terrifying leap. Here's to the new year and all the resolutions. Here are my six resolutions - outlined on this blog to hold me accountable over the next twelve months.

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1) Read Two Books a Month

As a busy college student, it is easy for me to talk myself out of having time to read for pleasure. If I am being totally honest, I have not finished an entire book in the past year, and I know it is time to change that. When I was younger, I used to love reading, and I want to get back into it. My goal is to read a minimum of 24 books by the end of the year, and I will be updating this blog with thoughts and reviews after I finish!

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2) Exercise Six Days A Week

If you know me, then you know that I love all things athletic and that I am currently a walk-on rower at Indiana. While that should be a give-me for six day a week workouts, I still want to write this down as a goal. It is hard to stay motivated and always put in the expected work, and I want to push myself to always give my most in my workouts and to complete them even on my worst days. I am happy where I am at right now with my health and activity levels, and I want to maintain them throughout the new year. I will update this blog with quick and easy workouts, as well as healthy and delicious recipes and motivational workout videos!

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3) Limit My Time on Social Media

According to my Screen Time notifications, I spent 18 hours and 35 minutes on social media last week. 18 hours. And 35 minutes. That's a little under 3 hours a day. 3 hours! A day! That is one-eighth of a day! That means every eight days, I wasted an entire day on social media. Remember that thing I said about time? Yeah. It adds up. This year, I am limiting my social media to 20 minutes a day, and I already set a screen password to stop myself from cheating. Social media is the number one time-robber of our day and age, and it prevents us from reaching our greatest potential. The world's best do not spend 18 hours a day on social media. They spend this time doing. Bringing their greatest ideas to life and changing the world. This year, I am not going to let social media eat away at my potential. I will spend more time doing, creating change in my own little world and the worlds around me.

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4) Visit Four New States

This one is a little bit easier. I want to visit all 50 states. While I would love to drop everything and take a roadtrip to all 50 right now, life is not always that easy. Four, however, is totally doable. While I am hoping COVID is under control by the end of this year, I am more than ready to travel through it. I am looking forward to the amazing road trips with my roommates (and my other awesome friends) all around the country. I will keep this blog updated with my latest road trip routes and travel advice.

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5) Give 110% To Everything I do

This one sounds easy, but when you love everything you do and you do a lot, you begin to find yourself buried under an unethical pile of work that you simply cannot finish in time. You might take the loss on a test one day and show up unprepared for a meeting the next. Or maybe you give up your longing desire to learn how to play the guitar for a paid internship that sounds really cool. People always say that life is a series of choices, but why do we make choices and then fail to commit to them? 2021 is the year I give 110% to everything I do. By ridding myself of social media, I am hoping I will have more time to give more than I expect to receive. I want to be that girl; the one people go to with questions and ideas. I want to give my all, all the time. Why commit to something if you are not going to give it your all? I will keep this page updated with motivation and inspiration, for all of you out there who are also looking to become your best self.

6) Lose Myself in What I Love

Again, this one sounds easy, but when you love everything you do and you do a lot, you begin to find yourself losing sight of what really matters most in life. This year, I want to dedicate more time to the people, the places, and the activities I love. I want to lose myself in my passions. Granted, I will still have to wash dishes, pay rent, and study for exams, I do not want these 'chores' to ruin my happiness or dampen my days. I want to change my mindset to be even more positive than it already is. I want to look forward to everything I do, and put simply, I want to be better for myself and for those around me. I want to lose myself in what I love, no matter how great or little that love may be.

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2021 is a year of change. This is the year that we put in the extra work to create happier, more productive versions of ourselves. I am a firm believer that we can do anything we want, if we want it badly enough. To end my first blog post, I want to leave you with one of my all-time favorite excerpts from Teddy Roosevelt's "The Man in the Arena." As we begin the new year, remember to be the man in the arena. Do not be the talker or the thinker. Be the doer.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - Teddy Roosevelt