New Year New Me?

The opportunities of a new year, a new semester, and new classes of students have always excited me. It's a chance to put into practice some of what you know went right and fix some of what you didn't like. It moves reflection to action, but only if you take the opportunity. Maybe New Year's resolutions get played up too much or perhaps they are over marketed by companies looking to exploit your desire for self-improvement, but it seems that there are just two camps of people on the issue. There are those that overly embrace the "New Year, New Me" attitude and those that outright reject and mock others for it. I think both groups missed the point. A new year and really any opportunity to have a fresh start doesn't have to be some grand change in personality or life habits. You don't have to be a "new you." That level of change is extremely difficult for any person. Like most things, success can be seen in smaller adjustments rather than extreme changes. As we tackle a new semester, with new classes and a new year, I challenge you to forget trying to be a new you. Instead, the challenge is just to be a slightly better, happier, and more fulfilled you. Small changes are manageable if you define them and more times than not, they make bigger impacts than we expect. If you haven't done so, look back on the previous semester, and maybe at the goals that you set at the beginning of the year within your department or on your PDP. What small changes can make those goals happen and what did you learn? You might not be able to create a new you, but I promise you can adjust the one that you already are, and that's always going to be enough.