The first time I heard that phrase I froze. OMG, it is. The acknowledgement kind of makes 2020 a bigger year. And you think about the significance more when you’re adulting up a storm, trying to live life to the fullest while also doing a hundred things a day.
Like many people, I took advantage of a lot of opportunities to indulge over the holidays. Nearly every event was centered around food. The wine, beer and cocktails runneth over. My rambunctious brother was visiting and stayed at our house for a week. So yeah.
I think we all “give ourselves a break” during the holidays. Normal lives may be filled with order, boundaries, regime. Especially if your routine changes, like you are off work for a week, you are kind of vacationing from reality. You feel entitled to freedom, freedom from standard “proper” actions and freedom from guilt in your own mind. Like I said, I did it. Celebratorily. Gladly.
For the first week in January though, I came up with some “get back on track” rules for myself. (I know this could sound silly to some, but creating these rules on a weekly or monthly basis have been truly crucial to my personal health and fitness, the key to goal-setting.)
The rules for January 1-7 were simple:
One could certainly set stricter rules, and in the past I have. But in this case, I only wanted a solid week off from the top four offenders in my diet. These were the specific foods and drinks I noted I was consuming too much of in weeks prior. I had to cleanse!
Tuesday, January 2, I came home from work after a hazardous day. Here was my thought process…
A minute later, I felt terrible. I had just set these rules for my First Week, and I broke one immediately. I thought, what the heck is wrong with me? I realized I wanted to write a blog post about this experience right then. I wanted to document my own journey and failure. If this happens to a health and fitness expert, then it most definitely happens to those unpracticed and unaware. My problem was talking myself into that candy. I rationalized why I could have it, why I deserved it. This thinking was not in line with my goal. The person who lost here was me.
This is what my clients go through every day when trying to be active and eat healthy. They set goals. They make themselves promises. They welch on the deal. Because behavior change is not instant. It takes having “I want the candy” moments followed by “I ate the candy,” “I know eating the candy does not get me to my goal,” and “I resolve to not do that next time” moments.
We are all learning more, all the time. The better we recognize and analyze our behavior, the more likely we will change it and make positive, healthy lifestyle decisions.
It’s that time again. We can’t believe it’s December. Christmas is almost here. We recap our year, taking stock of the best times and worst times. We evaluate, how did 2017 go? We think about a new year and a new beginning. It means something to us, somehow.
Self-improvement is a shared hobby. It is estimated that greater than 40% of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions. But only about 8% achieve them.
People have good intentions. The problem lies in goal-setting. Say the first thought is “I want to lose weight.” A person may decide on a goal of losing 30 pounds.
“Losing 30 pounds” is an Outcome Goal. It’s what you accomplish after a series of steps. You have to work to get there. Instead, a person should focus on Behavior Goals – what, when and how you are going to do something in order to lose that 30 pounds.
I found a Forbes article that breaks down how to be successful with New Year’s Resolutions nicely, that is worth re-reading every year. Borrowing the sections…
We tend to set a huge goal or create a long list for ourselves. We are daunted from the start, which can lead to failing to launch at all or getting overwhelmed early. Instead, set small, attainable goals… “I am going to walk in my neighborhood.”
The more vague your resolution, the more vague your results. We have to be specific with our goals, and we have to measure the method. “I am going to walk in my neighborhood every Sunday for 30 minutes.”
Track, track, track! The pure idea that you have to document what you do (and don’t do) will affect your choices. It becomes real then. You have to admit it. Another great tactic is sharing your goals with other people – family, friends, social media. You are then accountable to more than just yourself.
Simply setting a goal increases your chances of actually achieving something by 10 times (according to Statistic Brain). Yet average people get discouraged easily after a couple weeks or months. They feel defeated and at fault. Yet confidence is key. You have as much willpower as you think you have. So boost that willpower supply with some self-love and positive influences.
I’m fairly miserable at the moment. I have combination sinus and respiratory infections. I have all the symptoms of the flu, except the added facial pressure and wheezing. It is not the flu though, the nurse practitioner said, because my fever hasn’t been high enough. Go figure.
I’ve been taking every care to recover – visiting the doctor, resting, taking doses of pain reliever, anti-inflammatory, antihistamine, cough suppressant, breathing treatment, vitamins and more. I’ve had high-nutrient items – homemade bone broth, fruit and vegetable smoothies, lean protein, herbal tea with ginger, tons of water and more.
My first priority is to get well and not be a lump. My second priority is to return to work. They desperately need me. I’m at the turn of a revolution in the Wellness Department, and I am M.I.A. for the moment, and I feel terribly guilty.
I start to think about progress and plans for a New Year. Even if it is an arbitrary new beginning, I do like to make a resolution. As I sit sickly reflecting on my last 12 months, what I hope to focus on in 2017 comes easily.
I have pondered often the irony of me “being the most unwell I’ve been in a very long time since taking the job as a Wellness Director.” I have been in the position for nearly five months. The role is demanding. Yet I cop to a good deal of fault for the way in which I have done the job – to my own personal sacrifice.
Technically, this was the first full-time year of my health and fitness career. The larger irony is that I believe I have discovered that all H+F professionals are forced to self-sacrifice. Namely, I find pros running themselves ragged to serve others and make enough money.
They most likely…
For me, this has led to…
Which leads to…
But all of that is overshadowed for them and for me by one resounding truth… Loving what you do, or more so, why you are doing it
Herein lies my resolution. Not changing the what or the why. Changing the how. For 2017, I will change how I operate. I will keep some health and fitness for me.
I must. Because without being healthy and happy, I cannot expect to spread “healthy and happy.”
This means…
Like many, as the holidays approached, I began to say to myself, “I’ll tackle that in January.” Now it is January, eight days gone in fact, and I’m left with no excuses.
I am a trainer, a very aware health connoisseur. But I am not immune to powers of the anti-routine. Rich, salty, sugary foods all around. Sacrificing time exercising for time with family and friends. And just plain procrastination.
The holidays are great for cherishing and indulging. I am better off accepting that. Doesn’t sound too strange to a lot of you who also treat January as a go-to month, a time to get everything back on track or begin again. So here we go…
January is famous for resolutions. The New Year brings a hope and a determination. I admire the spirit. The problem is how often good intentions still breed failure, when after a few months, or less, we give in to life’s hustle, conveniences and lethargy. We fall short. Because the adage “it’s easier said than done” holds true. That’s why there’s a saying.
Particularly in health and fitness, identifying areas for improvement and dreaming of that is not so hard. Yet the follow-through is what people lack. There is such a visible drop-off in gym attendance around March that professionals could laugh (or cry). Unfortunately, New Year’s resolutions are really more infamous these days.
This year, along with whipping this body back into shape, part of my objective is to help. Yeah, yeah. Altruistic. And maybe cliché. But I am very proud to be in this position to preach what I love and attempt to preserve what I believe to be a completely worthwhile tradition – setting goals, creating plans, committing to change.
In short, my resolution is to focus on building my health-ness business, for my wellbeing and for others’.
Hello world! I started this website today, my very own health and fitness site to promote my new personal training business. I filled it with some backdated content from my everyday blog TheSideNote.com. I plan to maintain both sites, only this one will be geared toward “health-ness” matters – advice, literature, research, tips, recipes and more to fuel your mind, body and soul.
It’s been a long, calculated journey for me to get here. (I used to be a marketer.) I’m psyched about this newness – new career, new city, new opportunities. I’m ready to kick butt and build something awesome.
Toe is in the water. I’m working at the YMCA of Spartanburg, Thomas E. Hannah family branch in downtown, as well as at Key 2 Fitness, an independent studio on East Main Street. Two jobs. Bam.
Business cards and stationary are in the mail. I will soon start networking for real. How could January New Year’s resolution timing be bad for such a venture? 🙂
