I’m usually not superstitious, but I probably got the flu this year because I failed to knock on wood when telling one of my friends “I never get sick.”

About a week ago, I woke up drenched in sweat with a fever, and all I could think was “uh-oh” or something a little more explicit, because the semester just started and I had just started training for the CrossFit Open.

Like other students who got hit with the flu, I was worried about my goals being sacrificed during my recovery process.

When I got sick all I did was sleep, crave Doritos and get looked at like a walking plague by my family members. My sister was the worst culprit of these stares, covering her face with her hoodie while following me with a can of Lysol to spray everything I touched.

Mentally, all I wanted to do was revert back to my 4:30 a.m. training schedule and throw some weights around, but physically, I was aching  when dressing myself , even after sleeping for 12 hours.

The difference between those who fail and those who succeed are the people that know that slip-ups do not validate giving up on a goal.

It would almost be too easy for me to use my sickness as an excuse not to follow through with my academic goals or quit focusing on my CrossFit competition because I was not active for three days.

While recovering, I realized New Year’s resolutions being placed during the prime time of flu season is a joke. Conveniently, the flu can make it harder on those who just created good habits to get back on track once recovered.

With January being almost over, people who recently set goals are already becoming burnt out and giving up. In my opinion, choosing to get back on track with goals is almost harder than the initial start of working toward them. It happens about this time every year where the gyms become packed and slowly dwindle down to being so empty you can hear every last awkward grunt from someone lifting weights.

Regardless of the goal, I think it is important for students to not get discouraged if they slip up, but simply get back on track with a stronger, more determined mindset than before.

Liz Stephens is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or ejstephens2@eiu.edu.