It’s that special time of year again, when the first buds appear on the tips of twigs and the first crocuses peek up through the hardened winter ground; it is a joyous time, a jacket-shedding time, a farmer’s market time, a resolution-breaking time.
Wait – what?
Yep. February and March are riddled with discarded promises; many Americans sink into a depression as we watch diet and carefully structured routine slip by the wayside of life, the implosion of the new and better us we’d envisioned for ourselves melting like the snow. Though the triggers may not be as important as the solution, it doesn’t hurt to spend some time thinking about why this might be true.
The reasons are various, according to Ray B. Williams in his article “Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail” (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201012/why-new-years-resolutions-fail). Among them are unrealistic goals, reluctance to change behavior, and disappointment when actually succeeding in changing the behavior still doesn’t change … everything else.
Dr. Martin Binks, clinical director & CEO of Binks Behavioral Health, added to that list in an interview with ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/12/20/5-reasons-why-your-new-years-resolution-will-fail/): surrounding yourself with temptation, making too many resolutions, or signing up for something you haven’t the first clue about. (I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely taking the course before I strap on the parachute.)
And how does this relate to those of us fitness folks who wish we were active more often, fitter, stretchier, happier? Well, news flash, folks: if you really hate gyms, then no matter how many drunken, teeth-gritting New Year’s Eves you’ve spent promising yourself change, you still aren’t going to hit that gym with any regularity come spring. Likewise, if running isn’t your thing, stop buying that new pair of shoes and letting it stare holes in your soul day after day.
The key is realism. If you don’t like the gym, choose an outside activity. If you don’t like running, consider taking up yoga. And if you don’t like being rained on – this is Oregon, after all – then find something that makes you happy inside and out of the rain. Whatever the case, pick one small fitness goal this week and get to work … you can become the next Michael Phelps later.
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