This Year's Resolution: Nothing!

A choice to change isn't exactly where the change starts is it? Like isn't the choice to change just acknowledging a change needs to occur and the reason for a change is what is being addressed? Is the reason for change because of a consequence, because of something so significant that it can no longer go unnoticed? Take weightless for example, many people claim they need to change their diet or lifestyle to lose weight, but then instead of taking out what they must already recognize as the problem materials, by way of recognizing lifestyle choices, they go too far and want a restrictive diet plan. Doesn't it make more sense to start with acknowledging why the change in the first place? After all, the holidays are a time where it becomes socially acceptable to eat more indulgent foods therefore putting on weight in a lot of cases, especially if the rest of the year you were working on diets only to let it go at the end and do it all over again the next year. Isn't starting a diet this next year, the same thing you did last year only to do it again now? 

The choice to change implies willpower, yea? So, we are admitting that we were lazy in making decisions and now we must implement sheer will to lose the weight? We will eat these foods, not those, we will work out five days a week, we will continue to will our way to a weight we are happy with, and then what? Are we hoping that the 31 days it takes to make a habit just kicks in and we will become these healthy, lean individuals we see on TV commercials riding a Peloton bike with our New York overview, as the world passes around our determined selves? That we will become the happiness that person depicts to us? What we want is control right? Control over ourselves, our eating, our bodies, yet we fail to override genetics, biology, the way and manner in which the body does things. We cannot override the fact that those Paloton riders in the commercials had dads that were lawyers or they were gifted in math thus allowing the income for a $2000 Bike and a $40 month subscription any Youtube channel could provide. By the way, running outside is still free.  

I get it though, we want to be in control. However, I think we have also proven to ourselves we are not too well at that. I think the biggest lie here is how we approach diet, weight loss, self-image, and instead of making the dramatic changes, we need to do nothing. Yes, nothing can be the change we implement that shows we are really changing. Think about it. Think about when you get mad, crave a sweet, hate your body, feel guilty about not doing this thing or that, instead of acting on those feelings why not just do nothing. No overcorrecting, no diet, no extra exercise, no earlier wakeup call, just ride out the emotion and do nothing about it. 

We want control right, well control yourself. When you respond to a poor emotion, you aren't in control but your emotions are. You are making a decision on December 31st to determine the self-sacrifice for a year that will gain and lose motivation. What means more than doing the large bold jump is to continue on, keep learning about what along the way is causing the distress, pay attention to how the perceived distress affects you. It makes more sense to make a change by doing nothing, than it does to respond and try to do it all, thus leading to where you are this year again. 

Accept the guilt, the remorse, the feeling of failure. Accept that you shouldn't have done this, drank all that, tried to overdo the workout and are now too tired to play with kids. Accept that a binge watch of two weeks probably wasn't the best, but do not try to ignore the acceptance with a readymade solution to make the bad feelings better. That is the problem, and yet, here we are again, year after year doing the same thing. Try it out. You might actually learn something this year. 

In my own life, I struggle with the over response of compensation for a shame-ridden, inadequate self by way of bodybuilding. Body Image disorders are nothing any activity can fix, but a spiritual awakening is necessary to realize that where you have set your sights is a faulty ending, when the reality is that you are enough, you are loved, even if the size, strength, and perceived attention from others goes away. Check out the Book, Here, Castle-Broken: When appearances are everything. 

God Bless.