Uy: Difference

You know what time it is. Whether it’s fitness, family, or future plans, everybody is out in full force with #newyearnewme, which often lasts until February—Chinese New Year. (Technically, they’re not wrong since Chinese New Year is still a “new year,” but I digress.)

It’s become a yearly joke—a meme for all you younger people out there—that the vast majority of resolutioners are doomed to attempt a lifestyle change, hit a snag early on, and revert to their “old me” habits in resignation.

They tried their best, they’ll tell you, but it’s too hard and too drastic to get out of their routine and introduce new things. What it is, actually, is committing to a mountain trek but turning tail at the base when they see how high the mountain is.

However, for the five percent of resolutioners who strive to take it one step at a time, the difference can be magical. They end up having an adventure that only seems to get better and better, despite a few setbacks here or there.

What’s the difference between these guys and the vast majority of resolutioners? They probably realized that all their previous attempts had failed, so they found a different way to approach change. Commercial gyms weren’t their thing, so they joined group classes where they could get fit and meet new people who shared the same goals.

Networking events weren’t for them, so they decided to join a book-and-board-game club in order to meet new people. In any case, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting new results is the textbook definition of insanity, so the dedicated, sincere, resolutioners play it smart and try a different game plan.

The other, more important, difference is that they are committed for the long run. They work in the dark knowing that there are going to be no significant breakthroughs for the first three months or so (they’re still building the habit after all).

On a personal note, it took me almost two years of taking fitness seriously for people to see the results of me working out. That was the grind: no progress pics (quite frankly, progress was slow) and routine, boring workouts to fix twentysomething years of poor posture from eight-hour video game sessions.

And I know other people like that: a friend of mine whose blog just hit mainstream a couple of years ago after toiling tirelessly behind the scenes to get visibility, and another friend who went through culinary school and now landed a head chef gig after a few years.

The two key takeaways here for a more sustainable #newyearnewme? Work smart, then work hard.

What difference do you want to make this year?

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph