Health and the New Year: Resolution or Revolution?

As 2014 comes to a close, many of us create self-imposed resolutions for the New Year.  While our intentions are a positive step, most New Years resolutions set us up for failure.  Health clubs are packed in January, nation-wide sugar content plummets along with a multitude of other habitual indulgences.  A more positive and lasting way to approach health in the New Year is to create a health revolution within yourself.  Create a revolutionary change in how you view health and fitness.  Rather than sacrificing and giving up indulgences in the short-term, revolutionize your health path.

The first step in improving your long-term health and fitness is to establish a long-term goal or goals.  Make your long-term goal both a challenge and a reward.  If your long-term goal is to complete your first half-marathon, then pick a race in a place you've always wanted to go.  After the race, enjoy your accomplishment by taking in the sights of your race destination.  If your long-term goal is a weight loss or smoking cessation goal, then reward your accomplishment with a health-minded indulgence.

Two years ago Sapphire PT had two customers who were trying to quit smoking.  As a motivation, to add exercise (physical therapy exercise compliance, walking, hiking, running) into their lifestyles (short-term goal) as a means to quit smoking, I offered to give each individual a $100 gift card to The Runners Edge in Missoula to use towards the purchase of a new pair of shoes if they successfully quit smoking.  Both individuals successfully quit smoking and proudly walked in the front doors of the Sapphire PT clinic sporting their new shoes!

Although the road to achieving your 2015 long-term goals may seem endless, the most direct route includes positive lifestyle and health choices.  Each and every day we are faced with lifestyle and health choices: Dietary choices, exercise choices, sleep duration choices, tobacco and alcohol consumption choice.  Revolutionize your health in 2015 by making positive daily choices along the road to your long-term goals!

-John Fiore, PT