New Beginnings

"The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning." Ivy Baker Priest, Former US Treasury Secretary

January 1st signifies the new year, and with the change of calendars it seems that we all jump on the "I am gonna do x,y,z THIS year." We start off cleaning out the cabinets, chucking the oreos, left over chips and dip, and promise ourselves that THIS year, we are going to eat "right," exercise, clean out the clutter, get rid of the "bad" habits.....on and on. What may make these resolutions so hard to keep is that we start off with extremes, e.g. going on severe fruit and vegetable detox diets, only making it hard to continue past a week once we start to STARVE.  Once we are starving, we "cheat," eat a box of oreos, call ourselves "bad," and then it's all over! We criticize ourselves for not being able to keep our resolutions, summarily decide that we are not "good enough," and so we give up.  And before you say "easy for you to say," I will declare that I am totally capable of eating everything in sight once a stressful situation arises. The whole school closure for a week sent me spiraling and I ate Will's gingerbread house like Godzilla stomping through town.

So this week, as the new session of classes begins anew, I would like propose that we take a different tack. Instead of declaring that we are going to "be good," eat "right," exercise "more," do all the things we "should" be doing, let's try this:

1) Stop. Take a moment. By this I mean temporarily stop the whirlwind of activities that come with the start of the new year.

2) Sit. Sit when you eat. Always. Sit and plan your day. I always advocate getting up 15 minutes early to do this.  Otherwise, sit and reflect for a few minutes a day. If sitting, reflecting, on the potty is all you can do then that's ok. But sit and reflect.  When you are tempted to do something impulsive, sit and reflect.

3) Breathe. While sitting, try a couple of deep breaths. This is a nice transition to number 4.

4) Listen. Listen to what your body is telling you. Acknowledge if you are hungry (likewise, acknowledge if you are full) and listen to what your body wants. Don't eat the oreos, you know they are going to make you feel gross. If you are eating them because you need an energy boost, try an apple and a slice of cheese and maybe some fresh air.

All of this seems really basic. I know you are saying "But I want to shed these 10 (20, 30..) pounds now! And I can only do it if I deprive myself and drink kale smoothies!"  Instead of treating this new year turnover as a clinical emergency, let's think of it as the rest of your life. You have time to do it right. Let's start with that. Build those 4 steps into your day.