2011

Is almost here. In 2 days the new year will arrive. I love new years, new months, new weeks, new starts. It's a great way to wipe away the old and start over. It's like getting a do over. I especially like new years because you have a whole year in front of you. It's like a blank page waiting to be written on. What will you do with that page?

For me, the focus of a new year is usually personal. I can't control anyone else so I work on myself. And those things generally revolve around health and fitness. This year feels a little bit different to me. Not sure why exactly, but it does. I have been battling with my weight for all of my adult life. I began doing aerobics when I was 19 years old. In the intervening years I have done all kinds of workouts and yet I'm still overweight. Kind of crazy huh?

But this year feels different to me. I have been thinking about what I want to accomplish and not necessarily what I want the scale to say. I want to be fit, to be able to run, to eat healthy, things like that. I'm not focusing so much on the scale. Yes, I did join WW but that is much more for the support and to keep my eating on track. See, it's a vicious cycle. If I eat well I have more energy to workout, and if I workout more I need to eat well. Funny how that works.

So I have decided to establish some goals for the coming year and to develop a mission statement so to speak. I don't want to get all caught up in a number on a scale. I want to focus on the things I enjoy and that I feel good. So I'm off for a short run and hopefully to craft a mission statement as I go. As an old WW leader used to say, "what do you really want?"