Resolutions Are A Lie Made Up By Hallmark!

Ask any regular gym-goer when is the worst time for gyms.

Some might be idiots who misunderstand the question and reply something like “Uhh...maybe around 6 pm?” or “Mondays.”

But most people will tell you that it’s right around the corner. January sucks. As someone who drags my butt to the gym 4-5 days a week, I can tell you that you ridiculous flash-in-the-pan new years resolution people are the worst. You’re there at peak hours, you’re wearing clearly new gym clothes, and you crowd the place up.

I just want to do my butterfly curls in peace, people. Not on a rotation with 3 other people!

For those of you who think I’m being harsh, let me clarify. I think it’s super-awesomely-great that you’re taking an interest in working out and getting healthy. Exercise is great for you, including releasing endorphins, which make you feel great, increasing your endurance and stamina, and can help you stay healthy long term.

But the people who sign a 12-month gym contract on January 1, only to work out like a fiend for 4 days and then quit, those are the ones I’m talking about.

Don’t fall prey to the idea that you HAVE to have a new year’s resolution, and don’t join a gym because you “should.” Join because you genuinely are ready to get healthy, feel good, sweat a lot, and you WANT to. That’s the only way you’ll stick to it.

It’s a big waste of money to have a contract membership at a gym you've only gone to a handful of times. Especially considering you can run outside or do workout DVDs at home for free (if you already own Sweatin’ To The Oldies. If not, buy it, it’s amazing).

I hate New Year’s resolutions.

I hate feeling like I “have” to decide to fix something about myself. You know what? I go to the gym year round because I want to be healthy and not die young. Which I wouldn't anyway, since I've heard from a very reliable source that only the good die young.

I do not make resolutions for new years. One thing I do is at the very end of every year, I tend to go back and think about the previous year, about things that have changed and happened, the people, the events, the highlights and pitfalls, and I usually write a fairly sappy and myopic journal entry about the previous year and what I am thankful for and looking forward to in the coming year.

And you know what? I don’t write anything about stuff I hate about myself and how I’m going to go charging around on January 1st fixing it.

Changing and improving of self is an endless, timeless thing. You don’t have to focus on the new year as a time for change, but instead, focus on yourself and what you WANT to (not “should”) improve, and take small steps throughout each year to improve yourself.

Don’t stop smoking just for the New Year. If you only do it because of a deadline, it won’t stick. Do it because you are ready, and it’s the best thing for you and your lungs.

And for the love of gods, get the hell off of my elliptical machine!!!!

But seriously, while some people need to relax on the whole resolution thing, it’s not a bad thing to look at what you want to improve and plan on doing so. I just don’t think you should have to do it at a specific time or force it before you’re ready.

I’d like to write and publish a book about confidence for young people, finish writing the musical I’ve been working on in my spare time and see it blow up on broadway, and write and record more songs and then sell them and make lots of money.

None of that is being declared for the new year. They are simply goals I’d like to someday achieve.

To end, here is an inspirational quote from Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe:

"We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden."

And one from Winston Churchill: "To improve is to change; To be perfect is to change often."

So, go forth, set goals that don't rely on a specific time of year! Be happy, be healthy, be abnormal and original. Be silly, be fun, and be with good people. --That one is from me. :)