Well hello there. You made it. Over the rickety holiday bridge into the vast tundra of the new year, possibly the last year, if the Mayans have it right. I’m not all that worried about it.
In fact, more of you are likely dreading something else–weight gain, or rather, a failure to lose weight gained over the past few months. So you resolve to lose weight, to go to the gym every single day, to never ever ever touch a piece of cake again.
Come on. We’ve been here before, haven’t we? There are scores of blogs and news stories out there either telling you how to keep a resolution or how you’ll inevitably break one or all of them. Little of which does you very good.
Do Something You Like, for Chrissakes
I for one think it’s a whole lot easier to do things that, well, you want to do. OR–like the effects of that thing. Let’s take an obvious one, like going to the gym, which sounds loathsome…until you go. Not just once, but, like, a few days in a row. I have started to do this and make a habit of it–and instead of loathing it, I’m sort of addicted to the way I feel when I leave…and so I go back.
(Also, at my gym, they give you this option to book your bike for spin class 26 hours in advance–and those classes fill up fast. And if you don’t show up for the bike you book, you’re blacklisted. So there’s that.)
But say you hate the gym and will not under any circumstances start going. Fine. I think there are probably lots of other things to resolve to do for your general health and wellness that don’t have to start with “I will lose…” (insert number of desired pounds here).
The reason we don’t stick with promises we make ourselves that sound good on paper are, I believe, because they suck. And we’re so busy talking about them that we don’t do them at all.
YOUR BEST DECISIONS ALL YEAR
So I say stop it with the big pronouncements, and start with small, quiet actions that you just do. Here are a few suggestions.
- Book a regular massage. Whether that means once a week, once a month, or once a quarter, doesn’t matter. As long as you make your next appointment before you leave, it’s regular. (If you need a primer on why it’s such an important part of self care, here’s one.)
- Go to bed half an hour earlier for a week straight. Then repeat the next week. And the next.
- Swap out one crap food for one fresh food every day.
- Cut out one or all of the big three. The three big digestive bullies are: gluten, soy, and dairy. Try cutting one, two, or all three out for a week or two and see what happens. You may be surprised. And those of you with digestive problems, you may be very pleasantly surprised.
- Have sex more often. Yeah, I said it. Why not? Make it a priority, people. There’s too much great research on the benefits of sex not to make this part of what you do for yourself (including benefits to the immune system, heart health, self esteem, even pain reduction, according to WebMD)
- Contact one good friend each week. I don’t mean write on their wall, either. I mean: email that person directly or even call (though I’ll be the first to admit I find phone convos lacking) and set up a time to see them. It’s hard to feel lonely or isolated when you keep shoring up the connections that make you who you are.
OH–AND IF YOU’RE IN NEW ENGLAND…
….Here’s another idea: If you’re in the Boston area, join me at the first-ever two-day event Be Healthy Boston on Jan 28-29. I’ll be there to deliver the opening keynote. But that’s not the reason to go; I think it’ll be a great place to sort of play around and expose yourself to different aspects of health you may never have tried before.
NOTE though that you can’t just show up; you must buy tickets in advance. If you do come, please come up and introduce yourself if we haven’t met! It’s going to be fun. Get tickets here.
Thanks for the positive reinforcement! I especially like “contact one good friend each week” and have been meaning to put that into practice for quite some time. I’d also like to mail out cards more often.