I've come a long way since graduating from college: I landed a good job, bought a new car and condo, married the love of my life, and have traveled considerably. Why is it, then, that I can't help but reminisce -- fondly, I might add -- about the days when I was a broke college student? After giving this some serious thought, I arrived at a possible answer. It isn't so much that life gets more dull as you get older. What it becomes is more predictable, and you no longer have the flexibility to do the things you did in your 20s. Many of us spend the first couple of years of our college experience exploring which career paths we want to pursue. I myself switched majors once, and I know several people who did so multiple times. Once we've pinned down a major, we usually have choice of activities we can partake in to enhance what we learn in the classroom -- from extracurricular activities to opportunities to travel abroad. Then comes the uncertainty surrounding...

Ah, there's nothing like the start of a new year, right? It's an opportunity to start anew. A clean slate. A chance to strive for greatness yet again. Research suggests that, generally speaking, people don't come around to meeting -- and, in some cases, even working toward -- their New Year's resolutions. Why is it that we place such a great emphasis on pressing the reset button on January 1 and becoming a better version of ourselves when, in most cases, we fall short? I surmise that we do it for the following reason: Life is nothing short of unpredictable, and we truly don't know what may lie ahead in the coming year. Thus, making New Year's resolutions give us the sense that we're at least partly in control of our lives. We first look at our shortcomings and the toughest challenges we faced in the outgoing year and convince ourselves that, with a little time and effort, we can triumph over even the longest odds. For example, let's say you l...