There was a collective glow at my gym this morning. The early 5 am hour was illuminated by streaks of shiny new running shoes racing along rows of treadmills and stomping madly on elliptical machines. The normally quiet environment had been interrupted by the resolve of many to make this the year to be fitter, leaner and healthier. In fact, losing weight is the number one promise people make to themselves as the final verses of Auld Lang Syne trickle over the televisions broadcasts at midnight. Guaranteed, by the time Valentine chocolates are in stores, many people will have replaced the dumbbells with caramel clusters. So what goes wrong?
There isn’t a large body of scientifically proven evidence around New Year’s resolutions, but here are a few tidbits I did dig up. About half of us will make one. And Sunnybrook experts say for the majority of people, no matter what their resolution is, they will fail five times before succeeding. Quick math makes that five years to actually make a promised change reality. Holy cow, how depressing! Bad habits are especially hard to break because of the instant reward that typically follows. If you do want to make a change, do it for the right reasons, get support, be accountable and have a daily plan to make it happen. Also take a good look at why past resolutions have failed, and how to break the cycle this time.
Maybe that means resolving not to resolve anything in 2011. Fair enough. I tend to fall into that category myself. I started filing my paperwork as soon as it came in last spring, rejoined my spinning class last September, and have made an overall effort to get more sleep. January first had nothing to do with it. Somehow, that took the pressure off and made the changes stick.
So whatever it is you want to achieve in your life, remember that following through is more important than the date of the promise. Here’s to making your proverbial new running shoe into a comfortable slipper you can wear everyday. Happy New Year!
