***January—Renewal…Again?

You can tell when it’s that time again. Somewhere between the bizarre, Euro-styled perfume ads before Xmas and the speed-rap Super Bowl flat screen sales, there’s the flood of dieting ads and gym memberships before New Year’s Eve. This is to remind us we haven’t been living the way we intended.

First, we must ask ourselves: if this is going on each year, what does it tell us about what happened to last year’s resolutions? That we have to remind ourselves to set ourselves the same goals as last year? To strive to eat better. To lose weight. To exercise. Why is it our nature to make resolutions to become better without actually getting there? And staying there?

So let’s start 2010 with ten healthful and seemingly minor resolutions but ones that will be easy for us to make and keep. But each will add to our physical and mental well-being. And each can become the building block for a foundation of life-long transformation. The key to turning small changes into sustained habits is simply repetition. Practice.

Whenever you get an urge for a sweet, eat an apple, and then wait five minutes and see if the urge passes.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Park at the far end of the parking lot.
Next time you eat out, leave at least one third of your portion behind on the plate.
Don’t eat anything white. Stick to tan—the whole wheat, whole grain color.
Don’t talk or answer the cell while you drive.
Have a bowl of soup before the main course.
Have the dressing on the side, not poured on the salad.
Start every weekend with a walk.
Breathe. At every stoplight, take a deep cleansing breath, five seconds inhale, five seconds out.
Oh, and rule number eleven? Repeat them again.

Tags: Allan Hamilton, new year, resolutions, super bowl, whole grain