2018: Harmony

In 2017 I didn't make any New Year's resolutions. I was frustrated from the previous year because I didn't meet my goal, again, of becoming a Strong First Instructor. As a result, I feel like I floundered with no real purpose for working out,

I started Move Better, LLC last year, but really started working on growing it around April. I didn't have a true goal or plan for how I intended to make the business work. I'm learning as I go. I think this led to frequently bailing on my own health and wellness and minimal growth of the company.

In mid-November, I got a wicked head cold that limited my activity. On Thanksgiving, my step-mother passed away suddenly. During that time, I lost a lot of sleep worrying for my Dad. I don't handle stress very well and it caught up with me. I ended up with symptoms of vertigo which persisted on and off through Christmas.

This year I missed a bunch of workouts because I just didn't feel good. I gained a lot of weight. My body shape changed  and since November until last week I was struggling to walk upstairs without getting short of breath. I have not felt like myself in quite sometime. All of my talk about staying on top of good movement so that we can do what we want and be healthy doing it as we age seems to be a farce in my own life, and this makes me sad on top of not feeling well.

As I reflected on the last year, I knew I needed to set some resolutions again. I felt the best when I had specific goals in sight. Even if I didn't achieve them, I had something to work toward. Also, in the past few years before 2017 I had started having a word for the year to define what I wanted to achieve. I think it helped me become motivated to do better at my job and to see some excitement in my career again.

So I have revisited my resolve for resolutions. My goal for my health is to be consistent with working out 6 hours per week. I am going to pay attention to what, when and why I'm eating. I'm adding yoga-this month I signed up for an online 31 day challenge.  I am going to meditate for at least 10 minutes daily...even if just before bed.

I am continuing to learn daily on how to build a business. I am spending time getting specific with my goals. I have a lot to learn still, but I believe now, that by setting goals I'll have a better direction to succeed. By setting goals, I help myself to resolve to take of myself in the process. (And if you know anyone in need of meeting their own movement goals thru specific physical therapy or fitness...I would love to talk with them 😁)

My word for this year is harmony. Per Dictionary.com the definition of harmony is a consistent and orderly arrangement of parts. I think this flows with setting goals and making a plan. It's synonyms are peace and understanding. This is something I have always worked to achieve in all of my relationships. If I work toward improved harmony in my life, not only will my own health and well-being be better, but I believe that all of the relationships in my life will improve.

We learn as we go. Sometimes we fail but the beauty is we always have a chance to begin again. I like looking at January to reassess where I'm going, but really we can do this every day. If I allow myself to calmly realize this, I easily achieve that harmony I seek. As a plus, in implementing my plan just today, I actually feel much better overall too.

 Whether you make resolutions or not, take some time to evaluate where you've been and where you're going. We all have room for improvement. Why not take the step and make a change toward being just 1% better every day?

Cheers and a very happy and healthy 2018 to all.