The beauty of the Pursuit of Happiness is that no matter who you are, where you live, what you know, when you were born, or who you love, you can be happy. True happiness is above the five W’s and so are you. Learn how to find happiness in the good and bad times of life. Believe it. Read it. Be happy.
Joe Douglas
– Editor-in-Chief –
Start small.
With a new year and a new semester, big is everywhere; big plans, big projects, big bills, big classes and big responsibilities. Upon returning to school, most students will be surrounded by all of the above. The key is to start small and stay small. Starting big will lead to disaster.
Stephen Shapiro, author of “Goal-Free Living,” said 45 percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, and 17 percent make infrequent resolutions. Not surprisingly, only 8 percent of these goal-setters consistently meet their resolutions. So what’s up?
In a December 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Blame it on the Brain,” writer Jonah Lehrer described New Year’s resolutions as “exactly the wrong way to change our behavior.” Self-control, she said, is fragile and should be treated that way.
The prefrontal cortex, located directly behind the forehead, is largely responsible for focus, short-term memory, solving abstract problems and willpower. Most people think willpower is controllable and trainable. However, everyone knows how fragile the will can be—especially when facing a slice of their favorite cake—and everyone is susceptible to losing their self-control.
People tend to make resolutions too big to accomplish and/or too vague to follow. Bigger is not always better when setting goals. The size of the job can be daunting and overwhelming from the start. “I will lose 30 pounds by June” is a great goal, but it’s really big compared to, “I will lose 5 pounds by the end of January.”
Trying to lose 5 pounds in one month vs. 30 pounds in six means the goal is 25 pounds lighter on the mind, specifically the prefrontal cortex.
Going small is the best policy. Set smaller goals, or break up the bigger goals into smaller ones over a longer period of time. This will preserve the willpower that’s needed to reach those goals.
Even the new years themselves should start small.
All December long, people create and accumulate numerous goals and resolutions. They figuratively stuff them into a big box with a sticker that says, “Do not open till New Year’s.” Then once they open it, they suddenly realize how much crap they shoved in there. The numerous plans and responsibilities become overwhelming and are shoved aside until next year.
It’s easy to get excited about all of these plans of things to try, but clumping them together just makes change that much heavier and more difficult to carry into the new year. There’s also the possibility of burnout.
According to an August 2009 article “Why Willpower Often Fails” on WebMD, people have a better chance of sticking to resolutions and goals if they avoid situations that would detract them from success altogether. In other words, avoid temptation when possible and spend less time around it. The temptation to buy something or loaf on the couch can still overcome anyone’s willpower, even if the goals are smaller and more spread out. Don’t overestimate willpower.
Set small goals with small time frames. Spend only small amounts of time, or less, around temptation. Eat smaller portions, spend less money, be less of a couch potato; whatever the resolution, start small.
