Four easy goal categories that can make 2022 your best year yet

By Abbie Riglin, Staff Writer

It’s that time of year again! Everything feels new, the holiday stress is over, and you might get a chance to rest up before regular life starts up again.

But there happens to be one task left to deal with — New Year’s resolutions.

With each new year that comes and goes, so does the saying “new year, new me.” But what if a new year doesn’t mean a new you, just new habits?

This is where those resolutions come in. Instead of trying to completely change yourself, these goals should be targeted at specific areas of your life where you want to see change.

For me, it has come down to making resolutions in four categories each year. These aren’t meant to be extreme long-term goals, but rather small ones that are attainable and can create an improved environment for me to create better habits.

A goal for yourself

This one should be fun! You’ve worked hard over the past year so now it’s time to do something for yourself. This goal doesn’t necessarily have a timeline so it can be ongoing and something you do for casual pleasure. Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn guitar, start playing video games, or take a pottery class.

This could even mean picking up an old hobby you had to put aside awhile back to make time for new responsibilities. Whatever it is, it should be catered to you and bring you a sense of joy, not a rush of fear that you must meet an end result.

A goal for your lifestyle

A lifestyle change is probably what most people think of when they are asked about their New Year’s resolutions. The most common one is the goal of making it to the gym in order to get back into shape. But I’m here to remind you that your level of fitness isn’t the only lifestyle change you can make. Sometimes with the stress of everyday life, we forget that the biggest part of making lifestyle changes comes from a healthy sleep schedule and regular meals too.

But a lifestyle goal can also just mean spending more time outdoors and less time in front of screens. Remember that these goals should be attainable, it doesn’t take much to make a big change!

A goal for your social life

This goal might just be the most important for people as we head into 2022. With COVID-19 and the fear of another lockdown hanging over us, it can be easy to head back into the shells we found ourselves in during the beginning of the pandemic. I’ll admit the few months of ‘normalcy’ I got to experience at the start of the school year have made me realize that people need socialization more than ever.

Making goals for our social lives shouldn’t be hard. As humans, we’re social beings but it’s easy to forget how often we need it. Because of this, I recommend making this goal with a friend or two, so you have a way to hold yourself accountable. You and your cohort can then figure out your comfort levels. Are you going out or staying in with a zoom hangout? Either way, you should be setting a goal to socialize at least once a week.

A goal for your professional life

Professional goals can be the most daunting to make, as they often feel like direct indicators of our success. However, if we’re learning new habits, we might as well learn a new mindset! Success isn’t necessarily measured by how much you make or how good your grades are, but whether you’re happy with what you’re doing.

If your goal this year is to get better grades, start small and develop a study schedule that’s easy to stick to. Or better yet, look into campus resources that can help maximize your learning experience.

Whatever your goals might be this year, it’s important to remember that these past two years have been extremely hard. You’re allowed to have some cushion room to make mistakes. Allow yourself to set reasonable goals, get specific with what you want and make sure there’s room for rewards too— you deserve it, you made it to 2022!