Reset for Spring Semester

How self-assessment and sustainable effort can reshape your semester.

After settling into the start of the new semester, it is easy to fall back into the habits and mindset that defined your fall semester. This can be advantageous if that means returning to healthy routines and study schedules. However, if there were any aspects of your fall semester lifestyle that compromised your academic success or mental and physical health, now is the time to develop an approach that will rid your spring semester of unprofitable tendencies.

These first couple of weeks, with their relatively lighter academic workload, are the perfect time to assess what went well and what you wish was different about last fall. Doing this with honest reflection can allow you to redefine your college experience. A crucial part of making sustainable change, however, is adopting a perspective that is open to the discomfort and vulnerability of growth.

First and foremost, it is important to accept that you will make mistakes. Putting yourself out there by going for new opportunities and it not going as planned will always be better than shying away from taking action. No matter the outcome, you can always learn something or gain experience from making an effort. You do not achieve anything from avoiding challenges or opportunities out of fear that they may not work in your favor.

Naturally, taking steps out of your comfort zone is difficult, especially for young college students. So how can we push ourselves in an effective, sustainable way? A common pitfall that curbs students’ success is an “all or nothing” mindset. Especially when it comes to navigating new situations or daunting ambitions in an environment where academic evaluations consume the majority of one’s focus, students may be inclined to see anything less than perfection as a failure. This only leads to unrealistic expectations and self-judgement.

For example, students might find themselves unsuccessful in trying to improve their efficiency while studying because they give up as soon as it feels difficult or ineffective. This is ultimately a subconscious excuse to get out of the learning and growing process necessary to build new skills and habits, but we cannot just skip to the end result. In fact, this growth and development process is where students will develop confidence in themselves to go after difficult challenges and take on real-world situations.  

An attitude that expects and welcomes mistakes and imperfections is one that will allow for positive change in largely any area of life. You may have decided that your morning routine, for example, needs some adjustments this semester. Do not be discouraged if you do not execute it faultlessly for the first few weeks, and do not let that lead you to believe the rest of your day and its potential are lost. Rather, the uncomfortable feeling that comes with pushing yourself should encourage you, because never feeling discomfort would mean staying in the same place.

You cannot wait for the “perfect” moment to take action because it never comes. Take a different approach to New Year's resolutions this semester and set goals of consistent effort rather than creating visions of perfection that cannot exist in reality. Consider and acknowledge setbacks as a positive sign that you are taking on a challenge that has the potential to make you a stronger person and student.