This declaration has done more to hamper and stall the progress of the human condition than any other, and it is just dripping with a cringe.

It will be this area of cringe that I will explore in this, the first of a monthly or bi-monthly, maybe quarterly blog post, we will expel from our midsts.

Resolutions are not a bad thing; in fact, they are just fancy ways to say goal. The only real difference between the two words is that, according to Merriam-Webster’s definition, a “firmness of resolve.” This profound commitment to resolve responsibility is where we run into difficulty. For example, a meme I discovered while surfing the interwebs, author unknown, stated:

“My New Year resolution:

1. Stop procrastinating so much.

2. I’ll post the rest tomorrow or whenever.”

Culturally, it would seem that New Year’s Resolutions are made to ease our guilt through the Holiday Season and to fill the coffers of our local Globo Gyms; more on this topic later. Once we have consumed all the fun and yummy foods and beverages that seem to start on October 31 and end on December 31 or sometime in the early hours of January 1. Then, on January 2, we will drink a glass of water and head to the Globo Gym.

Now, the example of the local gym told you we would get back to it. Whether it is the small hole-in-the-wall meathead gym or a gym that has you swinging around the room from the ceiling, gyms are impossible during the first week or two of every January. My husband usually boycotts the gym until the first week of February. Why did he pick that time frame? He informed me that it has been experiencing that is around the time that most folks have assuaged their holiday guilt and clear out of the gyms, and repeat the same cycle of the gym, feeling miserable and uncomfortable most of the year, celebrating the holidays and ending with the same, old and unrealized New Year’s resolution. Wash, Rinse, Repeat…

The most demoralizing aspect of the vicious resolution cycle is the squandering of our most precious commodity, TIME!

Fortunes are won and lost daily, if not hourly; friends and family come and go, and property and possessions can be replaced or lived without; in short, most parts of our lives that we view as commodities are by their very nature transitory. But time slips away every second of every day, and we can never replace that second or that one.

So, with the understanding that we need to capitalize on our most precious commodity, what do we do with the New Year’s Resolutions? My belief, and I dare say it is not a unique belief, is that a goal is something that can be made today, right now, in fact.

Now I know what you are saying, “Melynda, the New Year’s Resolution is an established concept and has the market cornered, and the name itself is so catchy.” Well, don’t despair, Melynda is here!

Rules are meant to be broken, maybe not when Hubby is in the room, but I can tell you’re picking up what I’m putting down.
Second, did someone put up the Iron Curtain back up when I wasn’t looking? See above.

Finally, try this for a catchy: “Today, You.” Let’s break it down together. The best time to commit to a change, especially changes that involve your health, mental wellness and how you see yourself is now. Not tomorrow, not this summer, or at the end of the year; it is TODAY! The “You” portion is the easiest part. “You” are in control. “You” can make the changes to your health and lifestyle. “You,” to paraphrase the poet William Earnest Henley, “are the master of your fate and the captain of your soul.”

So how do you start, you ask? Great question! You start by first stopping. Stop wasting your most precious commodity. Stop not prioritizing your health, happiness, and mental health well-being. Stop the habits and excuses that you know are preventing you from your goals. Stop seeing life as something to be endured merely.

Now that we have done all the stopping let’s start. Start believing you don’t have to be who you think you must be. Start to realize your potential. Start the process to enjoy life and the time you have. Start by making an appointment with AZ Vitality and Wellness and see just how easy it can be for this year to be one that embodies “Today, You.”

Until next time, friends,

Melynda