3 New Year Resolutions that I've heard about the most this week...

1. “I want to lose weight.” This is probably the most popular resolution out there. The only problem with this is that people don’t realize that a year is kind of long. You’re not going to lose weight in the first month of this year and then be a skinnier version of yourself for the next 11 months. People get discouraged when they don’t see the number go down on their scale after a week or they feel sore when they wake up in the morning due to a workout the day before. By mid-year, those resolutions are out the window and you’re back doing the same thing you were before… promising yourself that you’ll do it next year. How about you switch that resolution from “I want to lose weight” to “I want to be healthier.” Losing weight isn’t something that makes you feel better, it’s all up to your mind. You can starve yourself and workout and be skinnier in a few weeks. You look thinner, but you feel terrible… and before you know it, the pounds are back on and you’re hating yourself for it. My resolution is to be healthier. Instead of focusing on the number on the scale, I want to focus on how I feel when I walk up a flight of stairs or how long it takes to run a mile. Not only will I look thinner after some hard work, I will feel better in body and mind. You won’t find me throwing my money to a gym this year, you’ll find me using Wii Fit in my living room and walking around the block. I’ll be punching the bag I have in my basement and lifting the 8 pound medicine ball I bought at Job Lot for 10 bucks. I don’t want to lose weight just to be skinny. I want to build strength in my back and feel like I have a lot longer to live. Throw away the scale… the only thing you should be weighing this year is how you feel. 
2. “I want to be more organized.” Uh, how about I need to be more organized or I’m going to fail out of college. That’s enough motivation for me. Buy a full year planner, highlighters, post-its and whatever else you think you might need and don’t leave the house without them. 
3. Quit Smoking. Here’s some motivation for that… you will die if you don’t quit smoking. Die. You will be dead. And if you don’t die sooner than later, your tongue’s taste buds will diminish and you won’t be able to taste any of the awesome food next Thanksgiving. How about that? I mean, I could list all the reasons why you should stop , but you know them already. It’s not up to me to push you. It’s up to you to spend the money you would have spent on cigarettes on some damn nicotine gum or patches. Get it together. Its a new year. You wanna enjoy it without yellow teeth and lung cancer, dontchya?

I could write a chapter out of a self-help book here on this blog to help myself or you readers out, but honestly, you know all of the consequences if you don’t keep these resolutions. I’m not going to give you step by step instructions on how to keep them because there are NO step by step instructions. It depends on how bad you want this. Get off the couch, chew some gum and make a to-do list.

Happy New Year… now go kick some ass.

Xo ARP