It is such a relief to know that every morning we can start fresh with a clean slate and that we can do that any time during the year. A new year is simply a reminder for most people of a promising new beginning. As they say, out with the old (the old that's not working so well, that is) and in with the new.
You have made it past a very busy holiday season. Let us evaluate how you are making time for your own fitness, your own passions and your recovery from those things. It all begins with setting goals and making a decision to work toward them.
Henry Ford had said, "Obstacles are those frightful things that you see when you take your eyes off your goal." Let's look past the obstacles right now and find out: what would you like to do?
Are you balanced in these areas of life: finances, career, social, family, passion, spirituality, relaxation, health/fitness, service to others, self education? If on a scale of 1 to 10 you could score yourself and how much time you spend in each category, then what would that look like? I encourage you to make a list of each life area above and score yourself, 10 means you are heavily invested in a life area, and 1 means you have very little or no investment in that life area. If your numbers are very low in certain areas, then to increase your focus in those categories will help you achieve overall balance and improvement in all areas.
Make a number line for each life area and put numbers one through ten spaced evenly on each line. Then score yourself on each line and see if your zig-zagging all over the place. The lower the number, the more emphasis you need to put on that life area.
Go back to the first question of what you would like to do and apply that to those areas where you are spending the least amount of time. This is where you can see major positive shifts in 2013 toward progress.
If, for instance, you score lowly in the area of health/fitness what are you doing today and what are you willing to sacrifice to help you focus on that very important aspect of your life? Are you seeking weight loss? Will you choose to integrate walking in your day 6 days per week? If you already do that and it's not enough (because your body is amazing at adapting), then will you integrate 3-4 days per week on interval strength training? How is your nutrition? Be honest. Are you getting 10-13 servings of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables every day? What small steps can you take to work toward that? These are merely examples of assessing your health/fitness life area.
Take small steps in the right direction. Add 20 minutes three days each week of increased exercise or a whole food supplementation to increase your produce. Get these new changes under your belt for three weeks before you integrate a new change (like drinking more water) and turn that into a habit. It takes about 21 days to make a habit of something new. The biggest mistake you can make is to take on too much too soon and then burn out. Slow and steady wins the race.
Are you having difficulty with toxic people or situations? Are you finding support for your challenges? Is life caving in on you? If so, or, if you simply want to expand your personal development -another great resolution, then please consider reading a fascinating book on drawing boundaries. It is called Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No to Take Control in Your Life by Drs. John Townsend and Henry Cloud.
New starts are one of the best blessings we get every day, let alone every new year. They are refreshing and help us to get past our failings and create success. "The ignorant of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and re-learn." (Alvin Toffler)
Best of luck and Happy New Year!
Liz Donnelly, a certified Cleveland Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, an IYCA Youth Fitness Specialist, President of Training by Liz, LLC and Sales Coordinator for NSA Juice Plus+. She counsels families on nutrition and fitness and instructs first through eighth graders in physical fitness. On a personal note, once marrying the man of her dreams, she will be the proud mother of four more children (she currently has three of her own). You can visit her blog called FamilyFitnessGuru.com.
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق