Make Your New Year's Resolution a Habit

Jan 21, 2019

Did you make a New Year’s resolution?

New Year’s resolutions are a hot topic in January, and they are so controversial. While some are religious in their resolution-making; declaring, “new year, new me!” Others strongly oppose it: “I don’t need an arbitrary date to make a change.” This is a healthy debate where both the pro-resolution and the anti-resolution camps make strong points.

Personally, I’m all about New Year’s resolutions. I think it’s fun to chase a new goal and take on a new challenge. January 1st is a memorable point in time, but it’s man-made. Your “new year” can begin whenever you decide you’re ready to change your life. You don’t have to wait for a particular day to make a change. Start today!

My most memorable resolution

In the fall of 2015, I realized I was tired of feeling so tired. A busy private practice surgeon, from Monday to Friday, I was usually away from home for 12 hours at a time. As a mom of two awesome boys, then 4 and 5 years old, after tucking them in, I would snuggle on the couch in front of the television. I’d be asleep within the hour … before 10 PM. Night after night, I fell asleep on the couch. The sleep seemed to overcome me without warning. Night after night, I missed out on some quality time with my husband and a little relaxation.

Now, considering I was waking up at 6 AM, I was clocking in about 8 hours of sleep each night. Since many experts recommend an average of 8 hours of sleep per night, [we’ll talk much more about sleep in future posts], I thought I was doing well. I explained my fatigue away as reasonable, even expected, for a busy parent-with-a-career. My husband, however, was more concerned. He asked me to check in with our primary care doctor.

I did, and thankfully, my physical exam was normal. My blood work was normal too! All the while, I was also trying to doctor myself. I didn’t want to reason away my fatigue. I wanted to fix the underlying issue and feel better for good. I had been a hard-working mom for 5 years, but this fatigue was relatively new. What else was new? I realized exercise had dropped off my list of priorities. So, I resolved to get moving at least three times a week!

In brief, exercising improves the quality of your sleep. As I said, I was getting about 8 hours of sleep nightly and still felt uncontrollably tired. When you exercise, your brain releases endorphins [stay with me to learn more about these feel-good hormones :)]. Endorphins have a myriad of positive effects (ever hear of a “runner’s high?”). They also regulate your body’s internal clock, meaning they help you feel bright during waking hours and ready for sleep at bedtime. Lastly, endorphins increase the hours of deep, restorative sleep you get each night. I was ready for all of it!

On January 2, 2016, I took my first spin class. Well, to be totally transparent, I had taken a spin class maybe 10 years earlier. But, I was a total newbie! I didn’t know how to adjust the bike to my body. I didn’t know any terminology. I didn’t have spin shoes. I didn’t know anyone else in the class. And it completely kicked my butt! My first 50-minute class was at 5:30 AM. (Trust me, I know … I didn’t want to be awake at 5:30 AM much less riding a bike. But, it was 5:30 AM or nothing). During that first class, I couldn’t keep up with the instructor. I was winded and my bum - not to mention my calves, thighs and arms - felt incredibly sore after about 30 minutes. For the first time, I realized just how out-of-shape I was.

I felt disgusting and exhilarated.

When I headed to shower before work, I realized two things:

I was a mess. My clothes were wet with sweat. Beads of sweat reappeared on my brow as quickly as I could wipe them away.
I was thrilled! I felt more aware of some muscles than I had in years. I had done more work by 6:30 AM than I had by 6:30 PM in ages! I also felt proud of myself and motivated to attack the rest of the day.

I was excited to commit to spinning. And commit, I did. I went to spin class three times a week for over a year. I stopped when I was 34 weeks pregnant with my daughter (darn contractions!) My daughter is almost two years old now and I’m still spinning. It’s part of me. It’s a habit.

Only 9% of us accomplish our resolutions.

A New Year’s resolution is a goal. Even though setting a goal is an absolute precursor to achieving it, there is no guarantee. To that end, New Year’s resolutions stats are dire. 80% of resolutions are abandoned before the end of February. So, why? If these resolutions are the desires of our hearts, why don’t we chase them to fruition? I think our resolutions fail because our processes fail. We know what we want but we don’t know how to get it. You want to exercise three times a week, but do you have a step-by-step process to make it happen? You want to improve your diet; so, what actions will you take to do it? You need to make it a habit.

Take action!

What do you think? Will you make a resolution this year? More importantly, will you keep it?

If you want to change your life, start by changing your thoughts.