My 2012 Anti-Resolutions

Courtesy of Laura Pappas

The new year is a new start, a time where many make “resolutions” to eat healthier, exercise more, lose weight, quit smoking,  learn a new language, etc.  This year I challenge you to NOT make any resolutions, there is nothing magical about January 1st that makes your intentions any more valid then they are on any other day of the year.  This year don’t make a resolution to do something that you know you aren’t fully in support of.  Instead, take the time to reflect on what your goals are, where you want to be in your life, career, family and what steps you can start taking today to get there.

Being healthier, starting an exercise program or schedule, and spending more time with family are all great goals, if you do them that is… this year instead of new year's resolutions, I’m going to do new year’s goal setting.  I’m going to prioritize what is important to me and really think ab

out where I want to be one year from now, next January in 2013.  From there I’m going to identify actions that I can take that will help me reach and achieve those goals.  This is something I can get behind.  I know what the end goal is and why I’m doing some of the things that at the time I may feel like I don’t have enough time to do right now, because “life” gets in the way sometimes.

 I encourage you to do the same thing. Don’t resolve to be healthier this year, understand why you want to be healthier and take concrete steps to move towards that goal – maybe it means cooking more, eating out less, adding some personal training that will hold you accountable at your gym/crossfit, signing up for a health coaching program (shameless plug, I know) or joining a master's swim team — how else am I going to get better at the swimming leg of triathlons if I’m not practicing it!

A new year doesn’t have to mean a “new you” what if you work to improve what you want to or finally allow yourself to prioritize your life based on what is improtant to you.  This new year I am going to work toward the following goals:

1. Making more time for me – with a full time job, health coaching, crossfit coaching & working out there isn’t much me time anymore
2. Making my family a priority – I want to see my family more, often I don’t see them because it’s “inconvenient” but you know what they are important to me and I love them, I’m going to do what I can to see more of them in 2012
3. Sleeping more – this should be on almost everyone’s list
4. Learning how to say NO more often – we live in a time when everyone is busy, really busy, all the time.  If we know our priorities it will be easier to say No to the things that aren’t important so that you can have time for the things that you have decided ARE important
5. Keep learning – I spent last year doing a lot of learning about health coaching and over 100 different dietary theories as well as lots about ancestral health and the Paleo Diet, this year I want to keep learning and keep expanding my reach
6. Do more yoga – its good for your flexibility, good for your state of mind, and good for your soul – if you do practice yoga already, keep it up, if you haven’t ever done yoga, try it!

For all of the above things I’m making an action plan so that I can start working towards those goals. What are your anti-resolutions or goals for the new year?

About the Author:

Laura Pappas is a Crossfit Trainer at Crossfit King of Prussia, avid athlete, and Health and Nutrition enthusiast.  She writes for her own blog Against the Grain sharing her perspective on health and fitness and has recently started a Health Coaching business.

Comments

[James Dugan]

It is a very positive message to start the new year. The idea of being so calculating in creating what we wish to be has been something I have been learning with business and developing a web presence. Your ideas have merit and are well worth the time to explore. I wish you well in your search and I hope your writing and our community can help you achieve your goal.

One important non-resolution for me is to find more time. The years have taught me how fast they go and surviving from day to day speeds up the process. I want to live deliberately. Make every experience worth writing about and calculate my life in days instead of years. I think your post reminds me how important the day is achieving a goal. So as I sit back and reflect today, I am glad of who I am and what I try to be. But I am going to make a list after my vision of my life next year for what is essential each day.

And it is that list that I will carry with me:
1) Write and Read Each Day
2) Enjoy the food
3) Enjoy a friendship
4) Show my love for my Family
5) Help the poor and discouraged

That will get me there. Thanks for your words today at lunch.

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