A New Kind of New Year's Resolution
New beginnings. Refreshments, rewirements, restarts. I love the potential in all of them. Each day as we see the sun peek over the horizon, we have an opportunity to grow. Our opportunity for growth does not come without effort and it is not grandiose in scope or size. Our opportunity rests in small things, micro-changes that can be added slowly to our lives, the way you might add salt to soup, a pinch at a time until it is perfectly delicious. Add too much and the soup is ruined. These sprinkles of change, we are finding, are the secret ingredients to flourishing. And it is backed by research.
We are on the cusp of a new year and for many that brings big aspirations for change. There is always so much hope at the beginning of a new year, especially when it comes to our habits. It is our hopeful nature that spurs us into making those proverbial “New Years Resolutions.” Ancient Babylonians are said to be the first to craft New Years Resolutions four thousand years ago, a tradition that many people still embrace today. Needless to say, they have been around a very long time! You would think by now, we’d have somehow perfected the idea! Just after the post-Christmas sales commercials come out, the ads marketing the latest and greatest exercise equipment, workout routine, diet, miracle program or super food will flood our televisions, inboxes, and social media feeds. Americans will spend billions of dollars trying to fulfill New Year’s Resolutions that studies show are most often abandoned by March. Nearly half of all Americans make resolutions involving their health, including both physical health and mental health, and yet rates of chronic disease and poor mental health remain high. Four thousand years without much progress.
As much as I believe in the power of fresh starts to create change, for some reason, the new year does not foster better habits for most people. We are spending billions of dollars each year only to spend them again the following year. Maybe we have the timing all wrong. It’s understandable, “new year, new you.” Seems right, but we put so much pressure on January 1 and so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect in the implementation of our resolutions that is it any wonder that when we fall short, we fall away? We try to add exercise or more fruits and vegetables during the season of the year least favorable to all those additions. Maybe our resolutions should begin in June, longer days, warmer temperatures, and a better selection in the produce aisle. Maybe we need, “Halfway through the year resolutions.”
Or perhaps the difficulty in making a change isn’t our timing. Maybe it’s our eyesight. Well, not our actual eyesight, but the way of seeing things my dad reminded my siblings and I of when we weren’t able to clean our plates at dinner. “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach,” he would say as he disapprovingly looked at the food remaining on our plates at the end of our meal. His folksy idiom was telling us to start with a smaller portion next time, one better suited to our needs and our appetite. In the same way we let the promise of delicious food trick us into scooping up too much, we try to make big, sweeping changes in our habits, creating goals that are too much to digest all at once. We are sure we have room in our lives for a huge helping of change, but alas we find ourselves unable to finish the full portion. There is simply too much on our plate.
The work of the Platte River Fitness Series has always been about helping people create better habits. As we begin 2024 and as we move together into our 23rd year as a fitness community, let’s resolve together to embrace small steps. Let’s agree to resolve to take one small step today, and then again tomorrow until all the small, incremental steps lead to a more flourishing life. Instead of resolving to lose fifty pounds in 2024, maybe resolve to add one serving of vegetables to each of your meals. Maybe instead of resolving to run a marathon before you’ve run a 5K, start with the mile in the large number of events that have them, or start by walking a 5K and gradually reducing the time you walk by just a few minutes a day as you add some running into your effort. Maybe take a run or a walk or go for a bike ride on that kind of day when it all goes wrong, your stress level is exploding, and your first instinct is to either “eat your feelings” by devouring a gallon of ice cream or to hide under the covers. Best of all, maybe call a friend to join you on that walk or run or bike ride. Maybe turn off your phone and go to sleep just 30 minutes earlier.
The 2023 Virtual Challenge was called “Small Steps, Big Change.” This is the formula, the tool, the only thing that has ever worked for me. The 2024 virtual challenge honors the Leap Year, but as we move forward, remember that all the steps that allow you to soar are small. One small step today added to one small step from yesterday, added to one small step tomorrow, that is how to leap into a flourishing life. The virtual challenge gets us moving through the cold, dark months of January and February. It is based on the number of minutes of recommended exercise for adults and children. The lowest number is the minimum that we all need each week. For adults, 150 minutes equals five 30-minute sessions of moderate to vigorous movement, but it can be ten 15-minutes sessions as well. This is also a great time to try new ways of moving. Hit the weight room, try a water aerobics class, do some yoga. Movement doesn’t just make you healthier, science has proven it also makes us happier. Whether you are an experienced athlete or a beginner, this challenge meets you where you are. I can say with certainty that moving makes everything better. I know it’s a cliché, but we are “made to move.”
You can register for the virtual challenge through the end of January, but why wait? You should begin tracking your minutes on January 1. I’ve included the final days of February, including Leap Year Day, well, because it only happens every four years! Consider it a Leap Year Bonus. Accountability is important to creating better habits, so reporting your minutes to me weekly is HIGHLY recommended. You will do that via the PRFS email address, platteriverfitness@gmail.com. I find this a lovely way to connect with you as your accountability partner. Speaking of connection and partners, invite a family member or friend to join you. Social connection is at the heart of it all.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, the PRFS Timing Team, Points Team, and IT Team, and me of course, Merry Christmas, and a Healthy New Year! How blessed I am to call you “family.”