Crossfitting, Paleoing, and Living in the 918

The New Year is here and like every year, each and every tweet and blog post asks, “What are your New Year’s resolutions?” When confronted with this question on the screen I usually turn and hide. I don’t even want to think of resolutions because typically resolutions are the exact things that you DON’T keep in the New Year. Sorry to be Pessimistic Patsy but statistically most people do not keep their resolutions past week 2, and even less after a month.

So what are we to do? Say screw it all to any type of resolution that may help us be better, stronger, healthier, smarter  in 2011? No, absolutely not. But when you are making your resolutions think really hard before you set them out. And try to remember these three things:

1. Don’t give yourself too much to do in 2011. Try to focus on one or two resolutions that are manageable and that you could attain at any time in the year, not just the first. There are many grandiose ideas I have for 2011. I want to be fluent in Spanish, I want to do a 100 m handstand walk, I want to eat clean 100% of the time. I want to quilt. Sheesh, I have a lot to do and when I start to look at this long list of resolutions or what I call “wants” for 2011 I start to have a panic attack. How the hell can I possibly attain all of these things starting January 1st. So what did I do? I took a big step back and went over my list, forcing myself to pick one thing I can commit to, only one. Yes, I would love to promise myself that I will do everything on this list and if I can do that, great for me. In all actuality, the new year will hit and I will be so busy with everything else that most of this stuff won’t ever get wings to get off the ground. So my one New Year’s Resolution: Paleo. That’s it.

2. Grab your friends and get going together. Many people say they can hold themselves accountable, and maybe they can. I myself find that I am a lot more accountable when others are relying on me to follow through. So what better way to start the new year than finding a few friends that want to share your goal. This could be eating healthy, working out more, learning spanish, training your dogs, whatever! Just grab some friends and keep each other accountable. Plus, usually this stuff is a lot more fun when you aren’t doing it alone!

3. Don’t hate yourself if you fall back a few steps. January 1st is arbitrary. Yes, it is the beginning of a new year, and a great platform to start new things, but who decided that this is the only day of the year when you can start a program to make yourself better? Exactly, no one. Janaury 10th is just as great of a day as January 1st, and February 20th is good too. So if you decide January 1st holds too much pressure to get your butt into gear then give yourself a week to get started. The main idea is that you start, and if you fall off the wagon just make sure you brush yourself off and get back on, immediately. Don’t focus on the fall focus on the future goal and most of all make sure you are having fun.

Happy New Year everyone! 2010 was a great year, here’s to making 2011 even better!

Cheers to a bigger, better, stronger, healthier You!