Attorney Wellness
| Publication year | 2021 |
| Pages | 0060 |
| Citation | Vol. 27 No. 3 Pg. 0060 |
A New Resolve on New Year's Resolutions
As we embark on our journeys to prioritize our physical health, we are sure to stumble along the way, whether it's with a pint of beer or a pint of ice cream. Be kind to yourself, and don't give up.
BY MEGAN MURREN RITTLE
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days o' lang syne!
For many of us, these are the last lyrics that we hear (or for some of you, sing) before we lay our pretty little heads to sleep only to wake in a new year and begin the yearly ritual of starting a new (or another) New Year's resolution. Well, maybe we actually start that resolution on Jan. 2. After all, midnight is a lot later than it used to be and there's pork, black-eyed-peas and collard greens to be eaten on New Year's Day to ensure that we live high on the hog, with much luck and prosperity for the year to come, right?
Should our old failed resolutions be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should old resolutions be forgot,
And days o' lang syne!
I want to encourage you to listen to these lyrics, take them to heart and forget what you may perceive as your past resolution failures. This year I want you to resolve to rethink how you approach this year's resolution.
The New Year's resolution is a mostly western tradition where individuals seek to improve their lives or accomplish a personal goal at the start of the new year. The part of that I want you to rethink is the "start" of the new year. Why do we pressure ourselves to completely change our lives in the first 31 days of the new year? Why do we expect that we can change habits or make life style changes in a mere four weeks that may have taken a whole year, or even many years, to develop? We crowd the gyms and clear out the produce section of the grocery store, only to donate $39.99 to [insert name of Mega Gym] for the remaining 11 months of your contract and for that second bundle of kale and avocados to shrivel in your crisper.
As I woke up on Jan. 1, 2021, with the melody of "Auld Lang Syne" still stuck in my head, I, for the first time in memory, made New Year's Resolutions.
My family background includes Italian roots. As a result, I love to eat, especially around a table with wine and great conversation. I am also a fast eater, so when everyone else is halfway through their first helping, I am usually polishing off my second and debating whether I should grab a third or request the dessert menu.
However, in somewhat contrast to being a voracious eater, I am also physically active (or at least I was, once upon a time, in a year far away, before COVID). Two weeks before March 16, 2020, I had just completed my 10th half marathon. I love running, but I'm also a swimmer, and, in the past few years, I learned to love cycling as well. I've completed three Half Ironman triathlons, so I think I can humbly call myself a triathlete. Unfortunately, racing was shut down along with everything else...
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