It’s that time of year again, the time fitness blogs are packed full of end of year assessments and goals for the coming year. It’s time for the New Year’s Resolution post-pocalypse.
New Year’s Resolutions come in one of two obvious flavors:
- Stop X
- Start Y
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you probably know that I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. I generally think any day is as good as January 1st for finding ways to improve your health and fitness or any other aspect of your life.
Whether a New Year’s Resolution or not, the refrain that I find echoing way too often in my head is, “I really need to stop X,” with X inevitably being a bad habit or poor health or fitness choice.
I really need to stop drinking Dr. Pepper.
I really need to stop drinking Diet Dr. Pepper (I have issues).
I really need to stop eating Miracle Whip.
I really need to stop playing Apex Legends.
I really need to stop playing No Man’s Sky.
I really need to stop losing my patience while driving.
I really need to stop eating out so often.
I really need to stop binge-watching shows.
I really need to stop…
You get the idea. It’s a constant stream of negative action statements playing over and over again in my head, and I’m already negative enough as it is.
Instead of approaching those bad habits negatively, what if I look instead at positive habit I could develop to help curtail or eliminate the bad habit?
I need to start drinking more water.
I need to start drinking tea in moderation.
I need to start eating more lean meats and vegetables.
I need to study Chinese more.
I need to study Machine Learning more.
I need to start running more consistently.
I need to start cooking at least 3 nights per week.
I need to work overtime to save time to binge watch Altered Carbon Season 2.
I need to practice patience…ah screw it, you all suck at driving.
You get the idea. If I drink enough water, I won’t drink as much pop. If I study more, I will game less. If you drive less, I’ll be a generally happier person. Replace punishment with reward and focus on building new, good habits instead of arresting old, bad habits.
So even though making New Year’s Resolutions goes against my natural inclinations, this is my New Year’s Resolution for 2020:
I really need to stop setting negative goals.
Feature image by Basil Samuel Lade