By Dr. Lesley Scharf | Contributing Columnist
The first month of each new year is a time for reflection and perhaps, more importantly, a time for many of us to consider changes that we’d like to make.
While some plan to make improvements with great resolve, others know they repeatedly begin each new year with enthusiasm and only to lose vigor and go off course, or they accept resolutions as merely good intentions destined never to reach completion.
Perhaps each year amid those personal, academic, professional, and multifaceted goals, we are better off simply focusing on one or two priorities. Taking a step-by-step journey towards a realistic destination, a student with a 1.5 GPA might strive to reach a 3.5 GPA by the year’s end; the person who has just undergone knee replacement might aspire to run the marathon by May; that ambitious home improvement might require total remodeling before the next family get together; and I want to lose 50 pounds before summer. Admirable goals? Yes. Doable? In a timely fashion? Maybe. But we must try. Persist. Work towards “progress, not perfection” As they say, “One day at a time.”
Break up a challenge into smaller, realistic tasks that can be done without unreasonable hardships, pain and sacrifice.
It is rare to win every scholarship for which we compete, every office to which we seek election, every job for which we apply. No one likes to miss a goal, be delayed or forced to be rerouted mid-journey . . . and breaking a promise to one’s self can make a person feel like a loser.
But we can’t move forward without being resolved to take steps forward.
January reminds each of us that we are always “works in progress.” We hope and believe 2023 can and will be a very good year.
The Scholarship Plug Corner is brought to you by the Scholarship Plug Inc. a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. College planning and financial aid education are fundamental to a successful post-secondary matriculation process.
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