075 Resolutions

New Year’s resolutions --- Not!

New Years’s Eve has come and gone--noise makers and hats in the trash---with reveling, celebrating, and sometime reflections over and done with for another year.

The word “resolutions” is brought out of mothballs each year, kept around for a few days or weeks, and then shoved into the memory bank until the next New Year’s Day.

Anyone who can keep them going is a much better person than I am. After years of resolving to do whatever I needed to improve, I have given up. 

January is the worst month to try anything new. There’s the letdown of the holidays being over, cold weather settling in often with snow and ice, and a couple more months of bleak weather looming in the future.

Gyms are packed with resolution-making clients who are going to get in shape and lose weight. That lasts a few weeks at the most and then it is back to business as usual which does not include exercise.

So what to do instead of resolutions or how to make change? It is definitely different strokes for different folks. Most people know what works for them so don’t get caught up in the hype for a new year and new you. 

Take changes slowly. Make them any time of year – don’t wait for Jan. 1. It is only one day a year. There are 364 other to start making changes. Evaluate what changes you think are needed or wanted –- a new look, better organizational skills, new job – and work out a plan. Each month tackle one goal and try to realize some parts of it.

My mother always encouraged moderation – in eating, drinking, and everything else you do. That worked for her, and I have seen moderation recommended in many diet and exercise plans.

If going to the gym to get in shape is one of your goals, start with one or two days a week and build up. Don’t jump in and burn out before you make any progress.

Don’t worry about making resolutions at the start of the new year. Do it any time you want – the first of March, the last of July – whenever it suits!

Frances