The backstory:
Driving home from my New Year’s Day Boot Camp class - Day 7 of my annual 12 Days of Christmas workout series - I became overwhelmed by the number of people out running, moving, being active at 11:30 am.
I’ve lived and worked in this part of town and this is just not the norm - even on holidays and weekends.
“There can’t be that many people out there that still do this January 1st thing… can there?”
(“But at least they’re moving, right?” RIGHT!)
Personally, I don’t understand any of the New Year’s hype… and if you know anything about me, it’s that I like to try and understand shit! (references available on request)
What’s with this ONE DAY? Why THIS one? Why all the pomp? (Come on, it’s not often you get to throw the word ‘pomp’ out there when ya write)
But it’s not like Dr. Oz has just come out with some overwhelming evidence (as Dr. Oz so frequently does) that physical activity is the linchpin of health, wellness and vitality. No ground breaking medical study was just released toting the multitude of health benefits stemming from exercise. So I guess that simply leaves the habit of making Resolutions on January 1st and a few viral memes and New Year’s Facebook posts with YouTube links inspiring us to get started today and MAKE THIS YEAR OUR BEST YEAR EVER!
Sure we [used to] put a new calendar up on our wall and mistakenly write the wrong year for a few weeks - but with digital calendars and auto correct, these don’t really impact us that much anymore, do they?
After "The Christmas SEASON", do we really want more revelry?
And the annual well wishes:
“Best wishes for [insert year of choice here]”… what about the year after that? Do these well wishes really have an expiry date?
“Wishing you a prosperous New Year “… and next year? Mediocre earnings?? If once a year you’re gonna throw me a bit of love, at least humour me a bit and leave it open ended.
My Point:
For some reason, we postpone our deep burning desires to TAKE CHARGE and make strides to a healthier life until that one monumental day. For some reason January 1st is THE DAY that we decide to “get serious” about our health and physical activity… again!
We need to remember however, that EVERY SINGLE DAY that we wake up is the beginning of a new year. Not necessarily one dictated by the pages of our “Country Landscapes” calendar, but the beginning of a new 365 days in which we can make some marked positive changes.
So treat each day like New Year's Day (minus the pounding headache). Wake up each morning motivated to DO something that will move you one small step towards the goal that you've set or the person that you want to be.
NOTE: I say “do”. Not thoughts but actions. YES, positive thinking is a fantastic, ever-so-important habit to get into, but there does come a point where all those Deepak-ly, Oprah-ized, Robbin-ated positive thoughts HAVE TO be turned into actions in order to effect a result.
Don’t be a spectator on your true potential. Start today. START EVERYDAY!
(Here's a link to my "9-Step Resolution Roadtrip" from a while back that might help ya along the way.)