Every year, we make new goals, whether they actually last us the whole year or just the month of January, we all start somewhere. Focusing on the importance of positive thinking and goal setting, taking a deeper dive into the views of what people think and how they execute the power of it all.
With school comes stress and anxiety. Many students try to stay positive and look on the bright side of all the pressure and changes in the day. Junior Claira Shankland says, “Just taking time away from work or focusing on the good things that are happening in the moment” helps her stay positive throughout the day.
Seniors are almost done with high school, and now their goals are changing and their mindset as well. At the start of high school, your goals might be just about grades and sports, but as time goes on, goals change. Seniors and juniors are starting to make goals toward college or future plans for after high school.
Winter months can be hard. Waking up in the darkness and losing light in the day might make us more motivated to stay inside (especially when it’s cold).”I think during the winter it’s most important to have a goal because I feel like that’s when I’m least motivated,” says senior Elena Dobronos.
You could be a light in someone’s darkness. Principal Kevin Jakub says, “Find someone who makes you laugh. Humor and laughter create light and light drives away darkness.” When he is having a bad day, he finds someone to help bring his mood up. Not everyday is a good day for everyone, and some are worse for others, but looking at the situation differently helps you and others around you.
If your morning starts on a bad note, don’t let that ruin your entire outlook on the day. Dobronos states, “When I have a bad morning, I get a fun drink from Starbucks or 7 Brew.” If getting a fun drink or listening to music helps you, it’s good to put yourself first and know what you need to try to change your mindset.
Start small: For being positive, start with one good thing you can say to yourself, and one compliment to someone you see during the day. Start with the little things that people might not notice at first, but soon might help them get through their day. One compliment could make someone’s day, you never know.
Goals can be set all year, made anytime, anywhere, and about anything. A goal can be as small as getting a paper done for that day. Goals don’t have to be extreme, they can be simple and still effective.
“I think it’s most important to have goals when life gets hard so you have something to work towards that has a positive impact in your life,” says Senior Maya Woods. Baby steps and building to something bigger can be more effective than just jumping into large goals.
Achieving your goals or changing your mindset doesn’t come in a day, practice makes perfect, and that goes for setting goals and making changes to the way you view adversary. “Working towards a target and clarity towards it, you are more likely to achieve your goals,” says Principal Jakub. It takes time to learn and perform.
Positive thinking can benefit you and others around. The Mayo Clinic takes a deeper dive into the Healthy Lifestyle of stress management. Being positive doesn’t always mean just thinking of always being perfect, thinking positively is the way you approach a negative situation. Going into a problem with negative thoughts can further harm your outcome.
