New Year’s resolutions can be so cliche. However, starting a new year does lend itself well to shedding old habits, focusing on fresh ideas and setting new patterns for yourself. Achieving these newfound intentions takes discipline and above all else, strategic planning.
If you plan on setting goals for 2021, the first step is to be realistic and structure your goals in a way that best optimizes your chance of achieving said goal. DAPP can help. Visualize the acronym for Dated, Achievable, Personal, Positive, and Specific. Now, let’s break it down:
- Dated Give yourself a deadline to help motivate you to continually work towards your goal. It will greatly increase your chances of successfully achieving it - keyword: achieve.
- Achievable Make sure the goals you set are actually attainable. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to if you commit to it completely.
- Personal Your goal should be something meaningful to you. Your heart needs to be in it so that if and when setbacks occur (and they will), you are totally invested.
- Positive State your goal in positive terms. Framing goals positively creates positive feelings and energy around the goal, which increases the probability that you will succeed.
- Specific The more specific you can make your goals the more likely you are to achieve them. Specific details help focus our brain on the specific goal and it becomes more tangible.
Using the DAPP formula to frame your new year goals sets the plan in motion. Once you have a plan, you can break it down in a sequence of steps from beginning to end. By having these incremental steps, a goal doesn’t seem so overwhelming and gives you confidence by allowing you to focus on the steps individually rather than the overall picture.
Lastly, spread the word! Tell others about your goal to hold yourself accountable. It can help generate an internal pressure to keep you focused and striving toward your goals.
Cheers to 2021! Here’s what our PVCC student ambassadors have set to accomplish for themselves.
- Jaden: "To reduce my carbon footprint by eating less meat, walking more places instead of driving and shopping more sustainably.”
- Bella: “To become more consistent with blocking my time. While I introduced this method of time management in late-2020, I would like to become more consistent and use it more often. Time blocking helps to manage my busy life with classes, homework, work, and family activities.