We are now closing in on the end of January. This is the time when most New Year’s resolutions start to fall by the wayside. Depressing, isn’t it?
Studies show that many people make completely unrealistic resolutions to begin with. Resolutions that they know deep down they won’t stick with. Or worse yet, resolutions that were downright impossible to begin with.
This is why I gave up on resolutions a couple of years ago.
My standard resolutions were always based on my appearance. Always to lose weight.
I usually vowed to lose fifteen pounds by Memorial Day and grow legs as long as Gisele Bundchen.
Or by Fourth of July, I swore I was going to get a butt like Jessica Biel, and abs like Jennifer Anniston.
You can probably guess how those resolutions turned out. I’m certainly not going to post a picture of me here in a bikini, but trust me, my legs are short, and my butt and abs are flabby nothing to write home about.
I’ll admit, making no resolutions had me feeling a little left out. I couldn’t sit around and complain with my friends about how difficult it was to pass up oatmeal cookies, or red wine with my pasta. I missed that guilty feeling you get, when you give into that nacho craving.
So this year, I decided to make a resolution that was one part health goal and one part fitness goal. I committed to running a half-marathon, 13.1 miles.
Here’s a bit of a disclaimer though. I’m not starting from scratch. I am a runner and have been for about eighteen years, more on than off. But, I have never really been involved in running in any event or race. I never challenged myself to that extent. After watching my husband complete a triathlon in September, I started thinking about the importance of setting some health and fitness goals for myself.
And they didn’t have to involve losing weight or drastically changing my appearance. Health and fitness, easy, right?
Health: We can all probably find an area in our life where we could focus on better health. Maybe we floss more, eat more veggies, drink more water. Get more sleep, drive a little slower, cut down on sodium. All of these, I have been trying to work on myself.
Fitness: A fitness goal could be as easy as walking the dog everyday, parking farther from the entrance to the grocery store, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Take a dance class, shoot more baskets with your kids, move a little each day.
We’ve all heard these suggestions, but if we could just find one easy one to make our own, we would have a better chance of success. Success breeds success.
Then we might consider trying a bigger, more challenging goal the next time around. Baby steps....
I have one more thing to say. I will not refer to these goals as “resolutions.” That would imply that I make resolutions, which I said I gave up on, and I’d look like a liar. Besides, a goal is better—it’s something that you can set any time, not just when the year is new.
Now I’m off to lace up my running shoes, grab my iPod, and try to get a bit closer to that 13.1 miles.
Who knows ... I might just lose a few pounds in the process.
