It’s said that New Year resolutions are forgotten a few weeks in.  I can attest that’s always been true for me. Except this year. Perhaps it’s largely due to having realistic resolutions that are more lifestyle changes than anything else. Perhaps it’s due to me growing up and realizing what’s important in life- your relationships and your health. Making active decisions to improve both these aspects of my life has led to me having the best year yet. And it was so stupid simple. Here’s what I did.

Make room for the people you love

I spent two years in China building a business, but it cost me my family and friends. I spent most of my adult life partying hard and eating poorly, but it cost me my health. Could I look back on my life 30 years from now, unhealthy and drowned in work, and feel good about my decisions? Probably not. That said, could I give up my career? There’s no way. I love working for myself and creating things. The secret is you’ve got to figure out how to do that with your friends without ruining those relationships in the end. The old adage Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life rings true, and it’s even truer if you can do it with people you love. What doesn’t? It’s not personal, it’s business. Business IS personal. Choose who you deal with wisely.

I haven’t always made the best decisions when it came to the people I associated with. I always figure it out in the end- sometimes a little too late. This time around, I proactively choose to surround myself, professionally and privately, with people I respect and who respect me in return. The difference this decision has made on my happiness is immeasurable. By removing those negative people from the equation, I have more time for the people that inspire me.

Love your body

raisethebar

It takes 4 weeks of consistent exercise to see a difference yourself, 8 weeks for your family to see it, and 12 weeks until everyone else to see it. I’ve been hitting the gym nearly everyday for about 5 weeks now and I’m finally starting to see some results. But more importantly, I feel different. For a long time, it was a goal to get down to my pre-Jesse weight (damn you, boyfriend!). Now that I’m actually trying to be healthy and not light, I could give a F about the scale. Just the other day, I weighed myself out of curiosity. I gained 10 pounds! But you know what’s cool? I didn’t care because I know where those pounds came from- cutting down on red meat, eating clean, cutting out coffee, juice, and soda, no fried food, a lot of water, and MUSCLE.

Setting a physical goal for myself, and reaching that goal is really damn satisfying. Now I understand why folks say fitness is just as mental as it is physical. The feeling you get when you set a goal, surpass it, and set a higher one, is addictive. Once you get a taste for it, you want to apply it in other areas of your life.

Best year ever!

Okay, maybe it’s a little too early to say 2013 is my best year yet, but it’s definitely on track to be. It’s crazy to think it could even be a contender when I think about how hard the past few years have been. Now I’m living healthy, am surrounded by family and good friends, am building things people I respect, have a great relationship with my boyfriend, and am at peace with myself.

Bring it on, 2013!