Most people are in the throws of the holidays or readying for the holidays. In the midst of the shopping, celebrating, and caroling, take some time to fast forward to January 2016, and make some decisions now that can help you keep your commitments in the new year.

It is common for many people to choose to lose weight and exercise more at the beginning of a year.  Unfortunately, many of these hopes are not really commitments, and are abandoned before February arrives.  What if we spend the rest of December and make decisions about the things we want to change, beginning the process now?  We have 21 days left in December.  Just think about it.  We can easily gain 5 or more pounds in the remaining 21 days this month, just by not paying attention to what we eat. And in so doing, we will start the new year with more pounds, which will be even harder to lose.

Making time for exercise during the holidays is hard, given all of the additional activities vying for our time.  But it isn’t hard to make time for exercise if doing so is a real commitment.   Well, it is clear to me that exercising is not a commitment of mine, since I haven’t exercised consistently for over a year.  Now, I do have a good reason for not exercising, since I have had a bad case of Bursitis in both hips for more than a year.  But the Bursitis is improved, and is more improved the more I move.  One would think that I would move more to hurt less, but I haven’t.  Several weeks ago I pledged to myself and even wrote in a Blog Post that I was changing this, but I haven’t.  So, exercising more is not a commitment of mine.  But it is my niece’s commitment.  Mike and I are in New York for a few days, and our niece Alison was also here.  When we met for breakfast yesterday Alison had already had her run, and her body shows it.  And I know that she is not only a better weight due to her exercise, she is also healthier. If I really want to lose the 15 pounds I found in 2015, consistent exercise will help.  And why wait until January?  If I get serious about this, instead of gaining 5 or more pounds in December, I can lose a few pounds, which will make my work in this areas easier in 2016.

The other area many people make decisions about at the beginning of a new year is finances.  Now, if we are really careful about our spending in December, we can get a head start in the area of finances. If we don’t, we will start the new year with excess debt, if we have charged our purchases, and will possibly have spent on items we, and those who receive them, will have forgotten soon after they are unwrapped.  Now, we know what to do about this, and it isn’t too late.  Most people have not finished their shopping, and some, like me, will spend too much in the last few days before Christmas, afraid that we haven’t bought enough.  Now, how much is enough?  That is the question to answer.  While it may be too late to make a spending budget, it isn’t too late to take inventory of what has been spent, and to limit any remaining unnecessary purchases.  Now, as hard as eating well and less and exercising more will be for me, spending less than I really want to in these next 21 days will probably be my greatest challenge.  And I have one more day in NYC, where the shopping this time of the year is wonderful.  So, this post is really for me, not anyone else at all.

If we focus, and make commitments and not just decisions, we can accomplish much, especially if we have strategies in place to do so. So, my strategy for today is to head out and walk the streets of New York, getting exercise while I view the town in all of its splendor, eating well and spending less.

January 2016, I am ready for you!