New Year, Same Me

Positivity > negativity,

and resolutions vs. goals.

I used to like the idea of “New Year, New Me,” but the more I think about it, the more I think it is more harmful than helpful. We really can’t change who we are. And usually when people have this “New Year, New Me” approach, it is because they don’t like something about themselves, and so they are approaching change from a place of negativity. “I don’t like x about myself, I need to change it.” is never going to work as well as approaching a problem in a positive way. I am always telling my students about the Power of Positivity - if you believe you are going to fail your Spanish test, you probably will fail. But if you believe in yourself, think about what you need to do in order to pass, and then do your very best to achieve that outcome, you will likely do quite well. I’m not actively trying to fail my students, after all. I set them up for success as well as I can, but it is up to them to have a positive mindset and use the tools I give them.

Focus on what you can add to your life, instead of what you want to take away.

We should have the same approach in our daily health/fitness endeavors. Instead of focusing on “getting skinny,” we should focus on improving our eating habits, or exercising more. Think about what you can add to your life instead of what you are taking away. Think about how you want to feel instead of how you want to look.

When someone tells me they are having trouble losing weight, the first question I ask is “Do you eat breakfast?” You don’t lose weight by skipping meals, or by ingesting nothing but juice for 3 days. (Ok, yes, you might lose some weight temporarily, but in the process you are robbing your body of necessary nutrients, and not achieving a long-term healthy outcome.) When someone tells me they are having trouble getting faster on their runs, I ask about their easy days. You don’t get faster by trying to run fast every day. You get faster by making sure some of your runs are super easy.

Adding is always more positive and more effective in the long-term than taking away.

Instead of trying to quit eating ice cream at night, try adding more vegetables to your dinner. Instead of trying to lose body fat, try gaining muscle. (Muscle weighs more than fat, so you may not see the number on the scale change, but you should notice changes to your body composition, because the more muscle you have, the more fat you will lose.) Instead of trying to spend less time on your phone, try spending more time reading books or coloring.

“New Year, Same Me. I’m not trying to take away from myself, I am improving myself. Still not a new me though. I am who I am, and I am more than the body I live in.” (Society imposes ridiculous and often unhealthy body-appearance rules on us anyway. Grown women aren’t supposed to have the body composition of a young teenager. It’s not healthy.)

Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Did you know that a resolution is just a vague idea of something you want to change? That is why resolutions are often hard to stick to. A more effective way to produce a change is to make a goal. A goal is a statement of what you want to achieve, steps to achieve it, and a timeline to complete it by.

If your resolution is to lose weight, how can you turn that into an achievable goal?

Think of the steps you need to take to lose weight. Focus on what you can add to your daily routine, instead of what you can take away. Instead of taking away dessert, try adding more filling foods to your meals throughout the day so you won’t be as hungry for that dessert at the end of the day. Try drinking more water throughout the day so that you can be well hydrated. Plan to exercise 5 days a week. Make yourself a schedule that you can commit to. Find a buddy with a similar goal so that you can work together and encourage each other. Make yourself a timeline to help you build the habits that will help you towards your end goal.

Positivity > Negativity

I hope this has given you some food for thought as you begin the new year, and that if you have made a resolution or goal, it helps you to be more successful on your journey. If you’d like some help turning your resolution into an achievable goal, send me a message! I am always happy to help. But most of all, remember that positivity is more effective than negativity!