Have you ever promised that you’d start off the new year strong and you’d lose weight, be nicer, or make new friends? These Primarily, start by reevaluating your relationships. On a consistent basis, you should surround yourself by positive, uplifting, supportive friends. Do they see the optimistic side of things or are they always complaining? No one wants to be around someone that is always seeing the glass as half empty because that, eventually, will bring you down. Do they lift you up and bring out the best in you? That is just a basic part of a true friendship. Supportive friends should inspire you to always persist and succeed. They should never hold you back or tell you that you can’t do something. Furthermore, if you can develop a decent amount of self-respect, you will realize the negative people in your life don’t do anything for you. “Friendship is a two-way street, and people should be as selective about their friendships as they are about their spouses.” [1] Don’t settle for less than you deserve.Stay true to yourself by continuing to take steps in the right direction: forward. Everyone has rough days because life is forever changing.

Certain days, you might not even want to get out of bed. Why is that? Perhaps it’s because negative feelings have taken over. You might be allowing them to consume you. Negativity is something in all of us, but learning to nurture these feelings is important. Analyze the situation. Take the time to understand that it is normal to have bad days. It’s what we do with them that makes all the difference. Address them at the start and then treat them like wounds. “If you scrape and pick at your scab, it will start bleeding again, but if you nurture the wound and take care of it well, you will experience minimal scarring. Negative feelings are like wounds. Don’t let them bleed through tomorrow’s joys.” [1] Be strong enough to move past these feelings and continue on this journey to a hopeful year.

Allow motivation to be the key to your new year. Let’s face it; the goals we set at the beginning of the year don’t always get achieved. “You tell yourself that eventually, you will have it all figured out. And eventually gets closer and closer every day, and you’re still standing in the same spot, wondering why your motivation has dwindled so drastically.” [1] Don’t tolerate your goals taking a backseat. If you take the time to get to know positive people and accept the fact that you, too, can change your life for the better, your brain will start to believe that you can do it. Once you tell yourself that you’re capable of doing something, you’re halfway there. If you learn to listen to the positive affirmations in your life and kick the negative thoughts to the curb, you’ll stay constantly inspired.Consider these resolutions as you dive into this year because they really can make a change. Stay close to the most positive people you can, continue to move forward in your life, bandage those negative feelings, and let motivation drive you through the year. Happy 2014, Kadets!Citation:

[1] “5 UNIQUE New Year’s Resolutions | Change The Way You Think | Make Your Own List.” Jewish Journal News. Tribe Media Corp, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. <http://www.jewishjournal.com/a_city_girl/item/5_unique_new_years_resolutions_change_the_way_you_think_make_your_own_list_>.