Ashley Lam, Period 2, 12/1/2022

Atomic Habits & Growth

At this current point in time, what specific standards have you set for yourself?

The fall to winter transition is always a period where I have to sit back and reflect on my life and my actions, as I often feel as life gets rough. Being a senior this year has made it that much harder. Along with seasonal varsity basketball at school, college applications have taken a toll on me as well as personal issues. Currently in my life, it has felt like lifting a boulder up a hill. Because of this, the standards I set are to grow mentally into the person I want to be by working on my mental, academic, and physical health. However, I’ve learned that setting standards for yourself is much easier than performing those standards. Taking things one step at a time and building on my mental health has been the perfect baby steps. The small things matter, and soon they will clump into one large goal that can be achieved. I have set things such as getting to school earlier, quitting naps after school, and sleeping earlier in order to feel more energized and productive the following day.

How and why did you come to craft these standards?

Oftentimes, I find myself running from my own problems and losing my self identity, causing myself to go into a never ending spiral. It can be hard to acknowledge the actions I’m doing and the reasons I’m doing it, as it is so easy to distract myself until the problems are gone. But the problems are never gone, they just keep following me like a shadow. Most of the time, I realize that self reflection is what I need when my stamina gets low and I stop running from the thoughts in my head. This habit has caused me to miss out on the moment experiences simply because I was running from myself. However, setting standards for myself to work on bettering the way I live and treat others has allowed me to break this cycle. As soon as I started to acknowledge my flaws, I was able to set small standards for myself.And once these standards become a pattern, I can finally achieve and become the person I aspire to be.

How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving these standards?

Demonstrating resilience can be extremely difficult when you’re trying to change old habits to form better ones, and many times I find myself falling back into old habits when things don’t work out. However, knowing that no one else is going to put in the change except yourself motivates me to work towards my standards, as meeting them will fulfill a satisfaction in me. How can you expect change in YOUR life if YOU don’t put in the work? I often look towards other people for comfort when I’m feeling down. But, depending on people to keep you afloat will only cause you to drown sooner or later. This allows me to keep pushing through and achieve every little standard I set for myself until I finally achieve my main goal: overall happiness.

How do you assess yourself? What adjustments do you make? How often?

For multiple years, I have formed the habit of assessing myself when it’s too late, creating a whole mess throughout my life. Taking a step back and analyzing what is going on in your life and how you feel can go a long way, and I’m learning to do regular assessments. Through these standards I have created, I have adjusted by assessing myself at least once every two weeks in order to stay in control of my own life. I assess myself by allowing myself to slow down from everyday activities and just take a break. Spending a few days with myself is a treat, and sometimes, you must treat yourself before you can treat others.