No More New Year's Resolutions!

     This year, I'm not making a New Year's resolution.  Not a single one.  Why?  Because my annual resolution typically looks something like this: I'm going to work out for two hours every single day, even if I'm near death, I'm going to drink nothing but water and eat more protein, more fish, more vegetables, more fruit, more fiber, less fat, less sugar, and not so much as a single peanut M&M until I've lost all the weight I gained over the holidays.  What fun.  So much fun, in fact, that my resolution usually dies a slow, ugly death before Super Bowl Sunday.

     This year, I've decided I'm going to live to be 100 (what the heck, aim high), and at the halfway point, it's abundantly clear that I need to think less about the short term and more about the big picture.  So I'm making three non-negotiable changes to my lifestyle, and not just until Valentine's Day, but for the duration.

     #1.  EXERCISE

     I'm going to make exercise a part of my daily life, just like brushing my teeth.  Rather than thinking of it as a bothersome chore, I'll remind myself regularly of all the benefits of exercise -- increased metabolism, prevention of osteoporosis, a stronger heart muscle, better posture, leaner thighs, the list goes on and on.  I will schedule my exercise sessions  in my daytimer right next to my doctors' appointments and client training sessions, and I'll make it my business to take care of my machine every day.

     #2.  DIET

     Instead of going ON a diet, which clearly implies that at some point, I'll be going OFF that diet (with what result, do you figure?), I'm going to pay more attention to portion sizes.  I don't know about you, but I'm dreadful at eliminating foods from my life.  Please.  A bad day cries out for chocolate.  A good day practically demands wine and cheese.  If I feel as if I'm going to faint unless I have a piece of birthday cake, then I'm going to have a piece of birthday cake.  It doesn't have to be the big corner piece with the hat-sized frosting roses on it, but I'm going to have a small piece, and I'm going to reallyreallyreally enjoy those first couple of bites.  The first few bites are the best ones anyway, right?  By the fourteenth mouthful, we've usually got the idea.  So instead of eliminating entire food groups from my life, I'll learn to listen to my body and eat what I'm hungry for, and I'll stop eating before I'm uncomfortable.  

     #3.  STRESS

     Here's the toughest one for me.  I am going to learn to manage stress better.  Maybe you've figured out how to do this, but not me.  I am a world-class worrier with an unparalleled fretting quotient, and I'm not really happy unless I'm worrying something -- ANYTHING! -- to within an inch of its life.  And believe me, it takes a toll.  From now on, though, when faced with impending doom, I'm going to ask myself a couple of questions:  Will this really matter tomorrow?  Next month?  NEXT YEAR?  So far, I've been faced with very few challenges that require that degree of my undivided exasperation.  So I'm going to take a deep breath and let it go.  As I said, that's not something I do naturally or easily, but I believe it will have a significant positive effect on my quality of life. 

     HOW ABOUT YOU?

     Are your New Year's resolutions going down the tubes even as we speak?  Are they the same ones you swore to last year and the year before?  If so, consider making a few changes to your lifestyle that will enhance the quality and maybe even the length of your life.  Instead of giving up negative things (cookies, chips, beer), set positive goals this year, some things you can life with.  Exercise daily to keep your body strong and capable.  Free yourself by eating what you want, but don't eat so much of it that you're groaning.  De-stress your life by putting things into perspective.  This year, for a change, consider focusing on QUALITY.  Heck, even if we all live to be 100, it's still way too short.  Make it a good ride. 

     HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!