Into The New Year

Will you have a New Years resolution this year? Did you have one (or more) last year, and, if so, how did that go? It will surprise no-one that I’m not a New Year’s resolution kind of person; although, like so many other people, I feel the temptation to start afresh on a date that, despite January 1 only having significance because we live in a society wide communal delusion wherein we’ve all agreed that somehow the 1^st of January is radically different to the 31^st of December, is really no different to any other.

It took me years to realise that the power of dates is almost the exact opposite to what we think. How often have we decided that we’ll start our new program of self improvement on a Sunday or a Monday (people seem to differ on which day they consider the first day of the week), or the first of the month (regardless of whether that falls on a Sunday or a Monday)? Too often in all likelihood. I know I did that for years before I woke up and realised the true power of dates is that if you want to change something you should start now, literally right now; which might be the third of the month, or the fifteenth, or even the last day of the month or even 2:00 pm on the 21^st of the month. The power is in the starting without delay because the longer you procrastinate the more grooved in becomes the habit you want to change. And, it’s all about habits. You are kidding yourself if you think you can go through life making rational and well reasoned decisions about every single choice in life (“thinking slow”). Success lies in developing a series of habits that are congruent with your goal.

Maybe you are a climber, maybe you’re not. Doesn’t matter. If you have any type of goal for 2024, read this essay by my favorite climbing coach, Steve Bechtel. I particularly like his strategy for dealing with fear – doesn’t matter whether it is fear of falling on a rock climb or fear of getting trashed in the surf in a kayak. Two things: one, I wish I’d written this essay because it is brilliant; and two, I wish I had read this essay 20 years ago. Eventually, I worked out that progressively practising success is a winning strategy but had that epiphany come 20 years ago, I would have progressed so much faster.

Here is one more essay for the new year which is about the power of labels. I dislike labels as they pigeon hole people into boxes which are hard to escape. But, this essay is not just about labels and boxes, it’s about metabolic health which is the biggest driver of modern disease today and is ubiquitous in Australia. A month could be all it takes to convince you that “no sugar, no grains, no industrial seed oils” makes a huge difference in, to quote Robb Wolfe “how you look, feel and perform.” Of course, we live in a free world, and if the latter is of no interest to you, you are free to continue with the former. In 2024, you get to choose your own box.