I can tell that a new year has started by the sound of fireworks going off in the dead of night, cars parked up along the sides of streets making it hard to drive, and the constant pressure of setting new goals for myself. Each time the new year comes, my parents, teachers, church leaders, and other adults ask me what my goals are. Each year I stutter upon answering the question. Do I have to make goals for myself; and if so, what could they possibly be?
To be quite honest, I'm a horrible goal achiever. I will fall behind on what I intend on doing until I don't even do it anymore. I've tried setting goals with many things in my life such as school work, choir, and spending time with family. I will have good intentions when I set the goals, but I do not have the drive behind them to make them ever happen.
Coming to this realization in my life has had a negative effect, however. I have started thinking that I don't need to set goals for myself anymore if I'm just going to break them. Having this mindset has made it hard for me to want to strive for anything at all. I've come to the conclusion that life will just set its own course and all I can do is watch it go by.
This thought, though, isn't going to help me at all with becoming a better person. I won't want to ever set goals or want to be in control of my life if I go back on my word every time. I need to realize that I have to step up to the plate, but how?
Figuring out how to put myself in control of life is somewhat difficult. I am jobless; I live with my parents; and I hardly do anything for myself without help. How can I be an independent person
when everything I could possibly need is laid out right in front of me?
I already know that I am not the goal-setting kind of person, and I have figured out throughout the years that trying to do everything myself doesn't work. I'd been sort of lazy in the past couple days, and hadn't tried to think of any way to help improve myself. It seemed like each time I came up with a good idea, something always would get in the way or make it so the idea won't work. Just as I was about to forget about making an attempt at self-improvement, I got the idea that gave me the inspiration for this article: Do nothing.
Nothing? How will nothing help, you might ask. I admit it might sound stupid, but nothing could actually help me. Whenever I set goals, I always get disappointed with myself at not keeping up with them and start to doubt that self improvement is worth anything. When I start to think like this, my self-respect lowers a bit. If I don't set goals and don't let myself feel discouraged, I'll be able to keep my self-respect and be a happier person. This is what I strived for the
whole time, I just never realized it.
Please don't think that you have to go out of your way to make goals to change yourself. Sometimes you develop more as a person when you stick to what you are best at (which is in my case, keeping it real.) I'm not saying that you guy should all be lazy and not try to improve yourself; I am simply stating that you shouldn't over work yourself for the sake of "goal keeping" and "being a better person." You will truly be the happiest and the most respected if you know deep down who
you really are, and what helps you live to your fullest potential.
