Only make a New Year’s resolution if you really want to change, so many people at the beginning of the year decide it’s time for the New Year new me challenge. Why? Are you doing this because everyone else is doing it, or are you doing it because you yourself really want a change? I myself had said every year probably starting sometime around 2003 that I was going to lose weight, but this “resolution” never stuck until I really wanted to make this healthy lifestyle change for myself. The lifestyle change you decide to change needs to hit home it needs to be something you are doing for a personal reason; if it is you will have much better luck sticking to it. It is also best to pick specific goals, not having a broad goal like getting more exercise because that could consist of walking down the driveway and back once per day, but being specific with it such as I want to do thirty minutes of cardio 3 times a week for the month of January. Making specific goals part of your daily routine will help you stick to these goals and help you succeed in reaching them. When you have a daily routine how much do you honestly think about every little thing we do throughout the day such as brushing your teeth, or walking the dog, very minimal right. So making your new year’s resolution part of your everyday routine will make it easier and easier to do every day and it will take less conscious effort to do as you continue the resolution. One last thing you can do is try replacing your bad habit with a good one. Let’s say your new year’s resolution is to stop drinking soda, every time you crave soda maybe replace it with a carbonated water. That way your brain is still getting the fix it needs while your body is not consuming the extra sugar it doesn’t need. Basically if you want a new year’s resolution you need three things, one you need to really want to change, two you need to make this new resolution part of your everyday routine, and three try replacing your bad habit with a good one. If you are still completing your new year’s resolution good for you, it has been almost a month, if you have failed don’t quit, take a step back and see what you need to do to help your self succeed and start over.
H.K.
Athlete of the Month