This time of year always seems to sneak up on each of us. We run around frantically picking up last minute gifts for all of our loved ones, planning get togethers and thinking about everyone else but ourselves. Of course, because this is the season of giving.
Well, then comes January 1 12:00am and we vow to once again put ourselves first. Statistically most New Years resolutions revolve around our health. It’s the most commonly neglected aspect in our lives. Odd, considering that maintaining our optimum health is fundamentally what is keeping us alive.
Why is it that year after year we make the same commitment to ourselves and yet never seem to keep that commitment? Why do we put everything else first? Why can’t we commit to OURSELVES?
We already know we need to exercise, eat a balanced diet, get a minimum of 8hrs of sleep a night and maintain a balance of work and play to lead healthy happy lives, but we still make excuses why we’re not maintaining this commitment to ourselves.
Commitment involves sacrifice-When we make the choice to put ourselves and our health first, we will have to make other sacrifices to maintain this. I don’t just mean saying no to dessert or the Chinese buffet, but we and our family and friends all need to make sacrifices of time and convenience at times to accomodate a new healthy lifestyle. The good thing is that after some time, once you’ve made this commitment, you will no longer look at these changes as a sacrifices but see and feel the benefits instead.
Commitment means change – Change is scary for most of us. Changing our habits, our routines and where our priorities lie. For sure to commit to our health means priorities will shift. We now need to arrange our day to make time for activity and time for extra meal prep as well as time to get to bed a little earlier. Mental and spiritual health is just as important as physical and arranging our priorities to balance work and play is equally important as making time for the gym. As with any change though, jumping in is the hardeststep, once your in the water it’s much easier to just keep swimming.
Fear of failure – I hear so many clients tell me that because they ate the bag of chips on Monday night they felt they had already failed so the whole week was a write off. People who are successful in maintaining their goals will look at the bumps along the way as learning potential, while the remainder will fall off the wagon and see it as permanent and personal defeat.
Just not ready – We all will have our “lightbulb moments” that will catalyst us to change. For some it may come standing naked in the mirror, for others it may be loss of function or injury. As a trainer I hear so often that my clients want me to “kick their but” as that will apparently motivate them to maintain their commitment to their goal. Ultimately that commitment must come from them. I can be there to guide and assist them along their journey, but that journey is theirs and until they are ready, nothing I or anyone else can do will make that commitment for them.
Fred Sarkari defined commitment to me as ”following through with your decisions to yourself and others regardless of the price to be paid”. I love that statement because it puts all the above excuses to rest. There’s no denying that maintaining commitment to your health is challenging just as any other commitment in life is, but there is also no more important commitment that you can make to yourself.
