The older I get, the faster each year seems to go. Remember when we were younger, and things seemed to take forever? Still, to me, year ends are like bookends. It’s always good to take a look back so you can close the book on things.
Did you accomplish all you wanted to do? If not, did you at least make some progress?
Unfortunately, sometimes we can look around and wonder what we really accomplished. If everything’s the same but everything’s great, then that’s fine. Good job. But if everything’s still the same and everything isn’t great, then you’ve got some work to do in 2014.
RESOLUTIONS MATTER, BUT IT’S WHAT YOU DO THAT MATTERS MOST!
Posted: December 20, 2013
I’m sure you’ve heard people talk about their New Year’s resolutions. You’ve probably even made a few of your own over the years. The question is, did you follow through? Did you actually do the things you said you were going to do?
Most everyone has good intentions. We’d all like to see things get better whether it’s at home, at work, in the community, or inside our clothing. I’m guessing that many of us are feeling a little bit snugger in those “skinny” jeans. Maybe even in our not-so-skinny jeans!
You’ve probably heard that the average American gains between five and seven pounds over the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Years. It’s easy to see why, with all the extra temptations like Christmas cookies, Egg Nog, and all those awesome leftovers.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Posted: August 22, 2013
By the time you read this, most of the kids will have started back to school here in town. They’ll have had the big open house for the parents to check things out and meet the teachers, and then a half a day on Friday.
A common joke I hear is when you ask the kids if they’re glad summer’s over and they have to go back to school, they say “no.” If you ask the parents, they say “absolutely! They’ve been in the house long enough.” But almost every kid I ask is actually pretty glad to get started back in school.
I think part of it has to do with going back and seeing their friends, and part of it has to do with getting to learn something new. Think about it. There’s great status in being a grade higher. It’s something to take pride in. As one of my grand-daughters put it, “I’m a third grader now!”
I’M STILL ALIVE
Posted: July 25, 2013
I was watching one of the regulars work out at the gym this morning. He did a 10 minute warm-up on the Schwinn AirDyne exercise bicycle, and then went back and did some dumbbell curls and presses.
You could tell he was pretty serious about it. After the dumbbells, he moved to the weight machine circuit. He started with the first one, did a set, rested a bit, and then did another set, and so on, spending about five minutes before moving on to the next machine.
All told, he did thirteen machines, which took him about an hour. When I finally looked in on him, he’d moved on to the Kettlebell rack, and was fiddling around with them. He ended up doing 10 min warm-up on the bike, and a little more than an hour in the weight room.
ROUTINES
Posted: July 13, 2013
At first glance, routines sound like a good thing, and they can be. They can help us establish new habits. They can even give us comfort at times. But sometimes routines can work against us.
Say your routine is to stop somewhere for a few drinks after work everyday. It might help you wind down, but it might also mean you’re on your way to becoming an alcoholic. It could also get you arrested for DUI.
You may have heard the term emotional overeater. This is someone whose routine is to turn to food for comfort when they’re feeling stressed. Obviously, this can lead to being overweight and obesity. So you can see that routines aren’t always helpful.