Just as surely as you will start to hear Christmas carols after Thanksgiving, you will start to see media posts suggest that the coming New Year should be a new version of You, 2.0! This kind of messaging in our media, as well as from friends, family, and even our healthcare providers, is distressing to me. First of all, any day that you want to make a change starts right there ON THAT DAY, whether it is February 1st, July 5th, or December 21st. All it takes is one step at a time in the direction you want to see yourself go. And, sometimes, we may take two very small steps backward in our trek toward our wellbeing goals, but we can always regroup, and resolve, to point that one next step in the forward direction.
Fitness is a way of life, not a New Years' resolution. Taking care of aches and pains should begin when we start to notice that they interfere with our happiness. Putting off our own needs only causes us to become irritable with ourselves and our loved ones, and miss out on the things that are going to chart our path to overall health (hello, not exercising because something hurts or, you fear it will hurt because of a chronic, nagging condition). I love to help people keep taking their steps, in the literal as well as figurative steps. It is never NOT a good time to get started. And it is never a reinvention of ourselves, or an upheaval of our entire lifestyle. It is really just steps heading in the winding, slow, circuitous journey forward toward overall health and enjoyment of a life well-lived and lived well. This is not cookie cutter physical therapy with pages of exercises that no one ever wants to do or ever does forever. This is committing to managing yourself while on the journey, with someone who can help along the way, at this very step where you currently find yourself.
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