Going from "N" to "D"

By: Emily Santanelli, Programs & Community Partnerships Director at Cooper Fitness Center

We tend to live our lives in "Neutral." What does that mean? Well, we may have the best thoughts for our lives and health, but nothing ever changes. You may want to workout more consistently or eat more healthfully. You may want to start running or become a healthier parent. All great desires right? 

Why don't they happen ? Why are changes never made? Why are the desires forgotten in a week or two? Because we are living in Neutral when we need to shift our lives into Drive. It is not enough just to want to change or want to be healthier. 

First you must believe that change really is possible. That you can accomplish what you set out to do. Second, a decision to change must happen. You have to decide to take the necessary steps or educate yourself, no matter how difficult, to implement change. Third, you must take the small steps over and over againfor a period of time until the change isn't what you want or what you hope for, it is who you are naturally. This is also referred to as disciplining yourself. 

Change is not easy. And in the instant gratification world that we live in, that can be a hard pill to swallow. But if you keep taking tiny steps over time in the direction you want to go, eventually you get to the place of accomplishing what you set out to do. A car will only coast if in Neutral. It's not until you put it in Drive that you can accelerate and navigate and get where you want to go. 

As 2012 approaches, don't just make some resolution to change. You'll end up disappointed. Take the necessary steps to actually become the person you want to be. It may take months or years, but the payoff of actual change will be well worth the cost.