The New Year’s Resolution is dead. It hasn’t ever existed for that matter. If it did, we’d be the
fittest instead of the fattest nation on earth. We’d also all be millionaires. And I’d have a
girlfriend.

No more sweeping life changes saved for January 1st. Let’s talk about picking good fruit from
well-tended roots. Let’s talk about real change instead.

Real change never results from a ritual once-yearly tip-of-the-hat to self improvement.

Real change is the result of a daily commitment to constant and never ending improvement.

Real change, whether it be of body, mind, or spirit, comes when the desire to have that change
overpowers the stagnant forces of acceptance and comfort.

Real change comes when being fit feels better than any food can taste.

I recently had a phone conversation with a boot camp prospect. When I asked her what she
wanted to accomplish she answered “I want to lose 30 pounds! In a week and a half!”

We both forced a chuckle at the end of that statement. But behind the strained laughter lay a deeper undertone to the conversation. As I listened between the lines I came to a number of realizations.

1. Paying homage to physical fitness once a year is a ridiculous tradition. When are we going to
   choose to make it a permanent priority? Even more so, what is it going to take for physical
   fitness to be a baseline for living instead of a doctor-recommended prescription for surviving?
2. When Mrs. Jones makes a comical quip about her weight immediately after expressing how
   unsatisfied she is with it, what she’s really saying is “I’d like the results, but I’m not willing to
   put in the effort.” Or in other words, “I’ve been here before, and I’m just sticking with the
   pattern so I can say I tried.” Mrs. Jones will convince herself that she’s OK with her current
   physical condition because the real solution to the problem is too painful to confront. The pain
   of being overweight isn’t as painful as accepting the fact that she’s lost control of that part of
   her life.
3. People will readily convince themselves that they can do it on their own. Sometimes with the
   most insane reasoning, if you can call it that! For example… “I just got a new pair of Skechers
   ShapeUps, and my knee pain and back pain all went away, so now I’ll be able to get back in
   shape and lose 30 pounds.” Really?! You let yourself gain 30 pounds because you didn’t have
   the right pair of shoes?
4. Most people set negative goals. These are very hard to accomplish. They often include the
   words “stop”, “eliminate”, “lose”, “no”, “won’t”, and “bad”.
5. Mrs. Jones is afraid of all the things she’s put off doing because she is overweight. For years
   and years Mrs. Jones hasn’t budged. She stopped growing, learning, and searching for new
   experiences because they required her to put herself out in the world. She imagines everyone
   judging her. Being overweight was her crutch, her shield, her self-erected barrier to happiness.

We’ve all been here in one way or another, using a problem as an excuse to stop progressing.
I’ve done it. But I’m working on it. Diligently.

We’re all afraid of something. But fear is no reason for inaction. If anything, fear is our
compass, telling us where we need to go.

Now, back to resolutions, goal setting, and picking good fruit.

Most resolutions that people pass are restrictive and prohibitory in nature. People resolve too
often to NOT do something when what they really need is a plan of action TO do something
they’ve been avoiding.

Restriction, elimination, prohibition, cessation – these are all negative ways to go about
accomplishing a goal, but by their very nature are exceedingly difficult to maintain because they
are all centered on deprivation.

What we need to do instead is ask better questions. Some of them might look like….

Where do I want to be 6 months from now?

Will I be happy with myself the way I am now in 6 months?

What do want to build/improve/create/nurture in the next 6 months?

How can I do it AND enjoy it?

What will my life be like when I accomplish this?

How am I going to feel when I accomplish this?

As you ask these positively framed questions, remember, you deserve happiness, greatness, and
peace – don’t settle for satisfaction, mediocrity, and the status quo.

Ask yourself what fruits you want, and then get busy tending the roots.
Be specific too. Identify your goals and be specific about what you want. The more clarity you
can bring to identifying your goals the more likely you are to accomplish them.

For every fruit (goal) that you identify, write down 3 things you can do to create a lifestyle that
will support the changes you need to make. Make one of them something you can do today in the
next 5 minutes. This is important. Taking some form of action immediately to accomplish your
goals, no matter how small, will set a healthy precedent.

Action is the mother of all progress. Take it and reap the rewards.

If you found this post thought provoking, please, share it. Send it to a loved one, or spam it to
your entire office! Hit the Digg button at the bottom of this page and help inspire commitment to
constant and never ending improvement.

Be an initiator. People all around you are waiting for a spark. Be that spark.

Happy New Year To All. Let’s make this decade amazing. And get me a girlfriend.

- C