[On Success] My 2013 resolutions [关于成功] 我的2013年新年决心

It’s been a few years since I’ve made any New Year’s resolutions. I stopped making them a few years ago because I realized I could never keep them — so why bother? Early last semester though, I was having breakfast with a friend of mine, a junior at Harvard, who asked me, “What are your goals for this semester?” A simple question, but one that actually stumped me.

Frankly, I hadn’t even bothered to make any goals for the semester — “Work on my thesis?” I answered. My realization that I couldn’t name any goals that I was aiming for got me thinking that maybe having some New Year’s resolutions would actually be helpful. I think the key is making resolutions that are “bite size.” As I was telling my friend as he was packing for winter break and trying to lug six GMAT books home with him, “How many are you going to get through, honestly? Just take one,” I suggested.

Here are my 2013 resolutions. I’d love to hear yours too! We can keep each other accountable. Divided by category:

Health & Wellness
1. 50 crunches/ day.

Personal Development
1. Watch one TED talk per day during winter break (credit to my junior friend).
2. Get back into reading Fortune Magazine (at least one article per week).
3. Speak to my parents in Chinese! How many of you feel like your Mandarin is slowly deteriorating?
4. Change my email, phone, and Facebook to Chinese.
5. Be aware of my personal goal to always show compassion to those around me.

Academics
1. Work on my thesis for a minimum of two hours per day, minimum one hour per day during school weekdays.
2. Study GMAT for at least one hour per day, minimum one question per day during school weekdays.

Career Development
1. Be reading at least one “career development” / “career exploratory” book at all times.

I think that’s ambitious enough for now! I look forward to updating you on my progress. Happy New Year, and may you achieve all your New Year’s resolutions in 2013!