How To Keep A New Year's Resolution

In this post: How I lost 20 lbs. and enjoyed doing it & The Top 10 New Year's Resolutions

How many people do you suppose stick to their new year’s resolutions?  My New Year’s resolution was, “to not make a New Year’s resolution,” but I broke that one as I was making it. Now I’m trying to settle on a new one. Lacking a national task force to help me cull the list of potentially beneficial resolutions down to just one, theoretically achievable resolution, I took it upon myself to browse the internet in search of the most popular resolutions.  Based on what I found, I’d have to say I’m a regular Joe, straight from Main Street, USA.


It appears most of us think we could/should be doing a better job of looking after our health and finances and be more generous to others with our time and money.  Specifically, losing weight, eating better, exercising more, quitting smoking, drinking less, getting out of debt, enjoying life more, helping others, spending more time with friends and family and learning something new, top the list of popular resolutions.

Over the years I’ve made virtually all of these resolutions... most of them more than once.  What I’ve learned from the rare cases where I’ve been successful is  this: Like most of us, more often than not, I ultimately do what I want to do. Accordingly, I’ve achieved a desired goal more often when I discovered an enjoyable path to the goal, a path I wanted to follow, than I have by relying on self-discipline and sheer will to force myself to the goal line.  In other words, "What works for me is focusing on the journey, rather than the destination."

Last year I journeyed down a pleasant path which led to me losing 20 pounds and improving on most of the other top ten resolutions as well.  Not a bad year!  Basically, I started with the idea that I could improve the quality of my life and expand my future prospects by adding a little more physical activity to my lifestyle.  From there, one thing led to another and... here are some highlights from my path:

·        Enjoy it! I found physical activities I enjoyed and sought out beautiful, comfortable and stimulating surroundings where I could pursue these activities.

·         Keep it stimulating!  I mixed things up by trying new activities, exploring new places and partnering up with a variety of people.

·         Be a gear junky! Whatever the activity, it’s more fun for me when I have good gear.  Researching, buying the good stuff and learning how to use it, keeps me engaged.

·        Get a heart rate monitor (HRM)! My HRM makes it easy for me to maximize the benefits of exercising, allows me to observe small but steady improvements in my physical condition and makes it easy to record and track statistics on my physical activities.  All that stuff helps keep me motivated.  

·        Buy local! I like to support neighborhood businesses where I’m likely to meet the local community of folks who are into the same things I am and have local knowledge.

·        Share! Introducing someone new to the activities and places I enjoy is almost always a rewarding experience for me.

·        Be a leader sometimes!  Whether I’m just setting the pace, raising the bar a little or trying to keep a group excited about a goal and moving forward on a plan, leading always adds a new dimension to things.  The challenge is to do it without ruining the experience for anyone.

·        Be a follower sometimes! I'm not the best at anything I do. If someone wants to take the time to expand my horizons, be a leader, raise the bar, give me a hand up or show me something new… I appreciate it.

·        Be a partner!  Sometimes it’s nice just to be - or have - a partner. Many times, “Neither a leader nor a follower be,” is a good motto for couples engaging in physical activities together.

·        Listen to the Buddha! Hang with wise, worthy, positive, uplifting and encouraging people.

So basically, I lost 20 pounds when I bought some toys, found fun and challenging things to do with them while hanging out with good people in beautiful and exciting places.

I'm an oak.
  

Happy New Year and good luck on your resolutions!