Congratulations. You made it to 2014. You survived the final episodes of Breaking Bad and even that godawful VMA performance by Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke. We are now a month into 2014, and chances are you’ve given up on your New Year’s resolutions. If you haven’t, kudos to you.
New Year’s resolutions are a trend, whether it’s the goal to lose a few pounds, get a raise, get a job, better grades, travel, etc., the idea of the “new year, new me” is just like Valentine’s Day: a trend we all believe we have to include ourselves in.
While they do improve the lives of the people who manage to stick with it throughout the year, most of the time New Year’s resolutions only last a few months, if that. L a d i e s , g e n t l e m a n , other gender identities: Don’t wait for a new year to take action. If you want to improve yourself, strive to do it. If you want to change a situation, change it. No excuses. The only limitations you have are the obstacles you allow to limit you. There are men and women overcoming obstacles every day; you can too.
Look at Richard Sherman. For those of you who don’t know who Sherman is, you might recognize him as the football player whose unorthodox postgame outburst in an interview with Erin Andrews caught a lot of attention after the Seahawks’ win over the 49ers in the NFC Championship game last week. Aside from the adrenaline-infused postgame bragging, Sherman is the perfect example of overcoming obstacles.
Sherman came out of the streets of Compton, Calif. and graduated from one of the worst school districts in America. In a school that boasts of a 57 percent graduation rate, Sherman not only graduated, but he graduated second in his class with a 4.2 GPA.
From there, he went to Stanford University. Sherman not only went to one of the most prestigious colleges in the country and graduated, but spent his fifth year of eligibility working towards his master’s degree before entering the NFL draft in 2011. Now Sherman is (not only in his opinion) considered “one of the best corner backs in the game.”
Sherman did all that, and I’m sure I wasn’t because of some New Year’s resolution.
New Year’s resolutions are a gimmick. The holiday a reason to drink, party and reinvent yourself every year. If you want to reinvent yourself or be a better you, do it. There’s nothing that can stop you. With the right attitude, hard work and determination, you can achieve your goals, even if you start in August.