Fitness For Life!

New Year’s is a holiday with a lot of pressure. We have to make a summary of the entire previous year, label it good or bad, identify key moments, and then plan for an amazing new year. It’s hard enough to appreciate life in the moment, much less at the end of an entire year. Creating a plan for success in the future is also a tough proposition on just one day of the year. How can we really become a better person and make our dreams a reality? True change takes creating new habits every single day. It’s making little adjustments in our attitude toward life events. It means being thoughtful and productive in our reactions to challenges. It’s having a laser focus on those goals at all times without distraction so they are a part of your everyday life. However, that level of intensity is difficult to maintain. As the months go by, we gently slide back into old routines of comfort, fun, and generally counter-productive behavior. By the time summer rolls around, we are knee-deep in pool parties and jalapeno poppers! Writing that novel and running 10 miles can wait, right? So, here are a couple of ideas to get on track. It’s nothing new, but we always need to have the reminder.

1. Life is Short: We can all read the news and understand that we aren’t guaranteed a tomorrow! Live a life full of purpose! If you’re short on motivation, spend some time with those less fortunate. We all need each other to reach our potential.
2. Invest time in a support system: Having friends is one thing, but do you really invest your time in them? Do you take a moment to call or email and say How are you today? Take a chance and open up about your true self and feelings, and they will do the same. This support at home allows us to go out in the world to take bold and fearless chances.
3. Leave your comfort zone: We all have those hidden fears, some worse than others. When we dig down into them, we can quickly discover the reasons we are being held back. Get serious about understanding your reactions to issues, think about your emotions, see where it comes from and face those fears. If you’re scared of joining a new gym, make a plan to start once a week and take a class! Build relationships and soon you will be looking forward to tomorrow’s classes.
4. Wear your heart on your sleeve: Now, at this point in the process you’re being honest with your close, dear friends, and going out to take chances. Something is bound to happen to knock us down! Instead of taking that sad retreat back to last year, what if you wear your heart on your sleeve? Admit you’re sad, upset or embarrassed about what happened. Go tell it on the mountain! Take yourself back to step one where life is short, think about those goals and move forward with your progress.
5. Fitness for Life! Here we are at the point. This is a fitness website, but fitness is not just about the WOD. If we are battling hang-ups, fitness will be fleeting. It will be a constant battle against old habits and the comfort zone. Work on your goals every day, and over time they will be accomplished, making room for new objectives…for next year’s resolutions.