It’s the last day of the first week of January, and chance are those New Year’s resolutions are starting to wear a little thin. But even if it looks like your life is turning into a bit of a mess and everything’s feeling a bit too hectic, that doesn’t mean you’re destined for failure!

Falling off your resolutions

Sometimes resolutions aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, and you just need to take a step back and re-evaluate where you’re at, what you’re feeling, and what your goals are going forward. As time moves on, new things need to be prioritised and suddenly those great ideas you had a week, a month, or a year ago are left by the wayside.

Letting some of these aspirations go isn’t the end of the world. Sometimes it’s okay to have a rethink and decide that hey, maybe on January 1^st going to yoga 5 times a week seemed totally doable, but now you’re a week in and that one class was more than enough to sustain you. And maybe you should devote that time to something more productive – like finding a cool new blog or reading that self-help book your mum gave you for Christmas (regardless of whether it was meant to be a pointed hint or not).

It’s totally okay to let these things go or adapt them as time moves on – you haven’t failed.

Work is piling up

Okay so it’s only barely, sort of the end of the first week of January and work is already piled up. Maybe you had an assignment you were meant to complete, or work left over from December that is suddenly in front of you again, and those days filled with copious amounts of food, presents, and celebrations seem infinitely far away.

If you’re struggling with you workload, it’s really okay to reach out. In fact, it’s a good sign of your emotional intelligence if you recognise when you’re getting close to burning out and need to take a short break.

Your mental health is just as important as anything else, so leaning on your network or talking with your mentor, tutor, or boss does not mean you’ve failed.

Getting your life back to #goals status

Regardless of whatever is going on in your life that makes you feel like you’re failing, there’s always a way to get back on track. Whether it means taking a letdown as a wakeup call or chance for a change, or getting some distance, re-evaluating what’s important to you, and leaning on your networks – whatever is standing in your way can be overcome, it may just take time.

To help you feel a bit more in control, try setting small, achievable goals that you can accomplish within a day. And if you’re not already, try to spend more time doing something that makes you happy (yes, happiness is a good enough reason to do something!).

Give yourself some space, take your time, and remember that you career (and your study) isn’t a defined path you can fall off of. It’s constantly moving and evolving, and if it’s not working for you that just means you need to re-evaluate. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

Featured image courtesy of Unsplash