Don’s Ego

Something I’ve been Tweeting and Facebooking about is my new year resolution of moving  my body 2,010 miles, whether that be running, swimming, or biking. It’s ambitious (probably overly ambitious). Doing the math, it works out to 40 miles per week, seeing as I didn’t start it until the 3rd week of 2010.

Hopefully I don’t have to explain the significance of 2,010 miles.

Here’s the reason I did this. Most Facebook status messages and most resolutions I see or hear are all about “quitting” something or “losing weight”. And at the risk of sounding like I’ve read The Secret too many times (I read it once, and I hated it for the sham it is), it seems when you resolve to do a negative thing, you’ll struggle. And, I haven’t thought about how a person who wishes they didn’t need cigarettes every day should word their resolutions. Maybe they need to stick with the “quit” verbiage.

But …with regards to those excess pounds, that cholesterol, your resting heart rate, think about what you can do and will do to make a difference. Specifically, one status message said, “2010 will finally be the year I lose these 30 extra pounds.” And I got to thinking, that was my goal too. But rather I focused on the fun of running, the challenge of training for a triathlon, signing up for trail-running events, and you know what happened?  I had tons of fun, did more outdoor and exercise type things than I have since I was a kid, and I lost weight and inches everywhere.

So let that be your mantra if you want 2010 to be different. Vow to walk or run 10 miles a week. Or eat 1 carrot, 1 green pepper, and 1 cucumber every day, and one apple (“an apple a day…”). It’s safe to say, you do that, you’ll spend so much time eating healthy things, I’ll betcha your cravings for junk food will diminish at least a little bit (I’m no Dr. Oz, I’m just guessing). Resolve to drink 80 ounces of water every day. If you buy 7 cucumbers, green peppers, and carrots every week, you’re budget for Doritos and Oreos is going to be cut by quite a bit.

The other good thing is this – you can totally track it. As I’m doing with my 2,010 miles. I invented this stupid idea 8 days ago and I’ve knocked out 14 miles, already.

Don’t lose, quit, or suffer. But set a goal and achieve it. The rest of your goals will come along for the ride.