Today was my last final of the semester. I have officially completed my first year of college. Some people say that it’s a lot like high school, but in my own opinion, it couldn’t really be much more different. In fact I would say that the actual content of what you are being taught is pretty much the only thing that is even similar, but even then you’re taking more classes for your major, so more of those classes will be things you’ll enjoy.

But in any case, with the closing of another semester, and my lack of plans to do anything productive over the summer, I’m going to have to do some planning if I don’t want to spiral down into a depression fueled by a lack of feeling like a contributing member of society. I’m not going to have school, work, or even my improv troupe to work with, so it will be difficult to fill all that time with things that actually matter.

First things first, I’m kind of treating it like a mini “New Year’s”. Being an adult I know I definitely will not have the luxury of endless free time like I will over the summer, so I can’t get used to it. My blog being the only daily responsibility I have, I’ll have to push the boundaries more, which means more writing.

It’s important to stay focused on what you’re aspiring to achieve with yourself. A lot of people will have given up on their New Year’s by now, so it could be important to start thinking about what we can do to start changing ourselves and improving our personalities or well-being, or whatever you don’t like about yourself. You may not have as much time to devote to change as I have, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen, it simply means that smaller, more reasonable goals will provide better results.

So when I jump into something like this, outlook is the primary focus. You should be feeling input and output at the same time. Let’s say you want to lose weight. Obviously you’ll physically feel the work you’ll have to put in to doing that, and maybe your output shows the work you’re putting into it (if you’re doing the right exercises). But if you’re doing something to change your personality, it may be harder to see those things. The way I’d gauge it is by how you feel every morning, afternoon, and night, and see if you can spot some improvements into your day-to-day life. If it helps, maybe set a planner on your phone to remind yourself to actually devote time every day to actually think about how you’re feeling. If your attitude doesn’t change where you thought it would, perhaps you’re going about it the wrong way or not doing enough to alter things.

In short, the two most vital things to successfully change oneself is this. First, set reasonable goals. Challenge yourself where you can, but don’t do something that discourages you enough to quit a week or two in. Second, be positive. Look for results where you can and monitor the changes that are being made. If less has changed than you would have liked. Figure out why.

Good luck!