New Year's Resolutions - Dirty Words!?!?

It's no secret that losing weight or getting fit or getting healthier are a staple of the new year's resolutions.  Goodness knows, it's something that's always on my mind - year after year after year.

The fact is that, this year, I'm starting to hear "New Year's Resolutions" as three very dirty words.

Firstly, the next person who sees me after a long hard workout and asks, in any form, "Is that your New Year's resolution?" just may get punched.  My issues with this go back to early 2011. 

It was late in January and I was riding the high of having just run my first 5k and was doing 3-4 Zumba classes a week and weight lifting. I was at the Y, minding my own sweaty business, when this guy came over to me and asked, with incredible derision in his voice "New Year's Resolution?" He smirked at me and gave me a look that said "You won't be here in another week."

It really hurt me that someone who I had never seen around the gym at that point felt it was okay to assume that I was there for the short term.  It almost made me want to go home and quit.  Then again, it made me angry as all hell and made me want to be there every day to prove this jerk-face wrong.

Now that it's the start of 2012 and the Y is once again flooded with new members and members who had fallen out of the habit of coming to work out, I'm seeing that attitude again from a lot of people and it hurts me.

I do go out of my way to make new folks feel welcome, to take the fear out of their first class.  There have been new folks that I have seen peering in the doors during class but not quite coming in to shake it with us that I've talked to after class or before class on other days.  I try to be supportive of everyone I meet and if they come to my class and don't love it I suggest other classes that might be more their style.  I do whatever I can to help bring people in to the Y, to the studio and to the community center.

I know how annoying it can be to be unable to find a parking space at the gym or to be squeezed out of "my spot" in a class because of new students.  I can see how people might feel put out because they're used to jogging on the treadmill and they're all packed now and you may have to wait 30 minutes to get your run in.  It's a period of adjustment - for the new folks who are out of their element and for the regulars who are set in their routine.

I want to see everyone succeed in their health related goals whether they're on day 1 or day 101 or 1001.

I didn't make any real resolutions this year.  The goals I set were set back in October when I did the Chalene Johnson 30 Day Challenge.  They change on a weekly basis as I meet some goals quickly and others just stop being a priority.  Yes, there are big goals I want to reach this year but it's a commitment to myself.

Whether I renew that commitment on January 1, 2013 or whether it doesn't change from now until 2014 I know where I got my start.  The same place all of these other new folks did - with one day at the gym and a dream in my heart.