Most of us start off the New Year with a bang, and we want to throw out the baby with the bath water, proverbially of course. You have heard it a lot:
“New Year, New You!”
Guess what? New Year, Same You.
Sorry Folks. I know we want revolution, but would you settle for evolution?
We have regrets about 2017; we have shown once again that we are not the superheroes we thought we should be. We have failed to make changes that lasted and ultimately we are still the same person, maybe some of us even a little less. We want to lose weight, we want to get fit, we want to play a musical instrument, we want to write, we want to read more books…
And to start it all these changes in Winter, when the light is short, the sun can be scarce, the gray can stay, the roads can be slick, and the daily grind can be a daily grind, seems to stack the deck against us seems wrong. Never Fear!
The fact that we have desire at all for something more is a good sign that you are still in the game of life, and in the game to thrive, not merely survive.
So over the next several weeks we will Winter Well together, if you choose. And today I will give you two rules, or action steps, that you can implement immediately:
Rule #1- Do not make any New Year’s resolutions. Resolve, not to resolve.
Instead, make a plan.
That brings us to rule #2.
Rule #2 -The One Minute Rule. Implement a new habit that takes one minute to complete. I would suggest something physical. Do a wall-sit, everyday for one minute. Do a plank. Hold your breath. Breathe thru your nose. Do a simple balance pose. Do Sun Salutations (Yoga). Do the Hula-Hoop. Whatever you want, just commit and do it, every day. How often? Every day. Every day, all year.
This is the Law of Aggregation of Marginal Gains. (James Clear – 1% Better Every Day, see link below) What? Small things done over time add up to substantial change. Think of compound interest. (The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, see link below)
So here is what I am doing. I received a jump rope for Christmas. I am going to jump rope for 60 seconds every day, right when I get out of bed. I actually have done it for 3 days now. Whoopee. At the end of a year however, I will have jumped rope for over 6 hours! That is a long time to jump rope.
Pick something, start today, and let us Winter Well. Let us know what you are going to do for 6 hours this year.
Cheers,
ks
Jan 06, 2018 at 5:59 AM
This is absolutely fantastic! One minute a day, six hours a year. Now I just got a pick something.
Jan 08, 2018 at 10:59 AM
Yes!
Jan 07, 2018 at 12:41 PM
Began daily1 minute plank on January 3rd.
Jan 08, 2018 at 10:58 AM
Keep up the good work, JL!
Jan 25, 2018 at 5:43 AM
That’s it I’m getting a hula-hoop!
Jan 26, 2018 at 7:45 AM
Do it! Mrs. Swaim has been using hers and seeing some change!