In my industry, every December/January resolutions come to mind. Resolutions = business when you're in the fitness world. New Year's resolutions are big motivating factors in many people's decisions to eat healthier, exercise more (or at all), and drop the vices that haunt us. Anything that convinces you to quit smoking, eat better, walk more, sleep more, or stress less is okay in my books, but this year I feel more anti-resolution than ever in the past.
Resolutions go back all the way to the ancient Babylonians and Romans, who celebrated the new year and made promises to their Gods that they would live more piously and responsibly in the coming year. Sounds kind of like what we do now, only somehow we've managed to take an intimate experience between a person and her God and turn it into another excuse to go out and buy crap—sign up for a diet, commit to a gym membership we probably won't use, buy crazy fitness gadgets from late-night infomercials while simultaneously cramming cheese puffs into our pie-holes.
It's just all so much pressure. We behave like college co-eds for the month of December (maybe minus the anonymous sex, for most of us), and then attempt to turn it all around in the 7-8 hours between going to bed on New Year's Eve and waking up on New Year's Day. Well, after reaching for the Advil.
No disrespect to the Babylonians and Romans, but I think I've got a better idea.
Instead of planning for January 1st, 2013, let's plan for December 31st, 2013. Instead of heaping pressure on yourself (and your poor husband) to be PERFECT, simply because the calendar has changed, why not look forward and plan for a year of just being BETTER?
Good health is a lifelong journey. Some parts of the path are a little rocky, others are clear and we move swiftly through them.
We have a little saying around my house that translates to all aspects of good health—good relationships, good finances, good fitness, good anything that matters to you.
"Always forward."
So, take a moment to reflect on all the forward steps you took in 2012, however small. Congratulations! You are one year BETTER than you were in 2011.
Next, imagine yourself one year from now—on New Year's Eve of 2013. How do you want to be better? How will you move forward over the next 12 months?
No matter how slowly, always forward.
Cheers!
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