As we continue the new year, some of us will have already forgotten the list of changes we were going to make. We were going to exercise more, eat better, lose weight, spend more time with family, quit smoking, or get adjusted more regularly. It’s hard to form new habits, to make those changes. Even if its beneficial to our overall health.
It’s important to have a goal, a direction to follow. You have to know what you are striving to achieve or you are just wandering around aimlessly. With a clear goal, you have a clear point of direction. So that if you have a momentary set back, you still know where you are headed.
It’s also important to not focus on past failures. Each day is a new day to begin fresh. Changes take time to take hold and become a part of our normal day. Forgive yourself for any past failures, move forward and start fresh. With time, it will become easier.
My wife has tried to lose weight in the past. And she would succeed for awhile, but then stop. She has tried various diets, like Weight Watchers, Paleo diet, Blood type diet, etc. They all worked for her, but her normal habits would creep back in. Or she would have a set back or it would become too hard to keep up and she would give up. A couple months ago, she decided she was going to try again. At the beginning of December, she developed a clear plan. Her goal was to develop healthier habits. Not just losing weight, but overall eating better, being more active and being more conscientious of her day. So when December began, she had a plan. She was going to work out at the gym so many days of the week. She had also planned as to what type of work out she was going to do. Soon other people were joining her at the gym and following her workout. She also had a nutritional plan. She knew how many calories she was going to eat in a day and she knew what kind of foods she was going to eat. She also had a menu planned each week. She did this for two months with great success. She lost 35 pounds. She dropped pant sizes. She was starting to run. She felt she was moving better.
Then February came and things changed. She wasn’t exercising at the gym as much. The friends who would join her at the gym weren’t coming as much anymore. She was getting bored with the same routine, the same foods and it was getting harder. She got out of the habit of tracking her food and her exercise. She also gained 5 pounds back. She got very discouraged. But she decided that she was going to re-focus on her goal. She got back into those habits that she was developing. She started to go back to the gym more regularly. She started to track her food again. She decided that no matter what happened last week or even yesterday, each day is a new day to begin again.
I encourage you to leave each day better than the last. Don’t be discouraged by your yesterdays. Live each day like it’s a new day, because it is. No matter what happens, get back on the proverbial horse, so that you can live your best life.
David Medina, DC