Today is December 15th – which means we’re already halfway through the last month of the year. Where did 2016 go?! All across the blogosphere, people are writing their “year in review” posts and even beginning to discuss their goals for 2017. But 2016 isn’t over – don’t give up on it yet!
Steve Kamb over at Nerd Fitness recently wrote a great post on staying healthy in winter, and he had this sage advice to offer for the month of December:
“Think of it like you’re on the starting line of a race for a healthy life that starts Jan 1st. You have two options:
- A) Hang around the starting line: Hang out and wait for the gun to fire. Then start running.
- B) Run in the opposite direction. Run farther away from the starting line, so when the gun goes off you have even FARTHER to run in the race.
So, step 1 is not running in the opposite direction. This means you can’t skip all your workouts and eat like crap and give up til January. This is you going the wrong way, and will make the task of “starting over” on January 1st that much more brutal. Instead, do what you can to “tread water” and hang out around the starting line. If you CAN, stay on target.”
I love this advice, and I think it’s fantastic because it doesn’t just apply to weight loss or being healthy. How can you really hope to achieve your 2017 New Year’s resolutions if you’re spending the last month of 2016 going in the opposite direction? If your resolution is to save more money, you don’t need to start cutting back yet, but maybe start keeping a log of all your purchases to see where your impulse buys are. If your resolution is to travel more, start researching some potential destinations you’d like to go. If your resolution is to start being on time for things, start figuring out why you’re late so you can tackle the underlying causes. And, if your resolution is to lose weight, start checking out potential gyms to join or pinning some healthy recipes on Pinterest.
I’m taking this advice to heart myself too, and experimenting with a few things I’m considering for New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions don’t have to be hard and fast, and they can evolve as you figure out what is and isn’t working. But it kind of sucks to make a resolution to go running every day, and then realize you hate running and would rather lift weights. That kind of change isn’t the end of the world, but it can steal your momentum and make you less excited about something you probably already need motivation to achieve.
And on the non-resolution front, I’m going to make sure 2016 goes out with a bang from a goal setting perspective… by setting three more quantifiable goals for the rest of the month. Here they are:
1. Work out daily, even if it’s just doing some jumping jacks in my living room. I’m happier when I work out, and doing so first thing in the morning tends to have a fabulous cascading effect on the rest of my day.
2. Read books voraciously in my time off. I am currently six books away from reaching my 2016 goal of reading 100 books this year, which is very attainable. But I need to prioritize reading books over wasting time checking various social media platforms, particularly when I find myself with downtime (like I will over the Christmas break).
3. Finally, as I wrote about on Monday, I’ve challenged myself to spend some time every day getting my house in order. This to me is the perfect December goal, because it’s going to allow me to hit the ground running in 2017 in an organized, peaceful, happy home – the perfect environment for success.
How about you – any final goals for 2016?
I have been battling a minor, nagging injury (piriformis/sciatic pain), and couldn’t seem to kick it, so I decided to commit to doing some yoga every day for the month of December. Admittedly I have missed a couple days, but I have mostly stuck to it. I primarily do Yoga With Adriene, though have done a couple of in-person classes with instructors I know. 2/3 of the way through the month and my pain is mostly gone (yay!(, and my range of motion has improved. I have typically only done about 20-30 min when I first wake up, which is easy to fit in my schedule and it has made such a difference!
Argh, that injury sounds so frustrating! That is great that you’ve found a challenge for the month to help get you back in shape 🙂 Have you ever tried Jillian Michaels’ Yoga Meltdown DVDs? Those are my favorite – they’re really athletic and get your heart pumping.
SO frustrating! I have still been able to work out, and even run, but had to cut my mileage way back. (Which, is fine, winter has settled in in the Northeast and I’d be cutting back anyway.)
I haven’t tried the Jillian Michaels’ yoga yet, but I keep hearing good things about it so I may need to check that out!
Let me know if you end up trying it! Just found it free on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5nyrD4eM64