Here I am on December 30th, 2021, pondering another opportunity to look forward to a new year. I feel like 2022 is going to be an amazing year for many reasons.
For Your Future Self
My wife Carla has been listening to a fantastic podcast called “Better Than Happy” by Jody Moore. In last week’s podcast, Jodi explained an interesting concept: “We have our current self, our present self, and then we have our future self. And our present self wants what is pleasurable right now in this moment. That’s the only thing our present self can really care about because that’s the only thing our present self experiences, is what’s happening right now. But we are also aware that we have this future self, future me, which is sort of looking back on present me going, ‘Please, make some decisions that will serve me.’ Even though that might mean that current you has to sacrifice in some way. So a lack of self-discipline is just letting my present, or current self, win more of the time, too much of the time. Ok, present self, what am I willing to sacrifice today so that my future self can benefit in a positive way?”
I thought that was such an interesting way to look at setting goals or New Years resolutions. It made me think of an example in my own life when my present self made a huge sacrifice for my future self.
A Life-Changing Choice
It was May of 2018. I was at a crossroads with my chronic pain and health issues. My present self had to make a tremendous sacrifice that would require me to dig deep within myself to create a future self miracle. This sounds dramatic, but it was true. My doctor told me that I had to stop taking NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In horror, I said, “How can I possibly live without my Advil and Naproxen?!” Dr. Khan simply smiled and gave no further advice.
Today, that small step led me to get off all 10 medications that I was taking on a daily basis. Not realizing it at the time, I was making a full year resolution that has turned into a lifetime resolution. And because I did…all of my chronic pain is gone! It’s really, really gone. What a miracle!!!
A Full Year of Resolutions in 2022
As you contemplate 2022, Carla and I are suggesting that you seriously consider changing your thinking from making a New Years Resolution to having a mindset of a Full Year of Resolutions. What does that really mean? Typically for us, when we make a New Years Resolution, that means we start January 1st with multiple resolutions. We’re typically “all in” for about four to six weeks. Then we run out of steam and give up or forget the resolutions altogether. Long term, that did very little to impact our lives. In some ways it was actually detrimental because it reinforced that old belief that we just don’t have enough self-discipline to accomplish our goals, so why try?
New Year, New Approach
What we’re suggesting for this year is a different approach. What if throughout the year you picked a few small changes that you could stick with? Over time, these small changes would make a big difference in your overall health! And here at More Than Healthy we’re going to help you do just that.
Every Monday morning we’re going to give you a simple health tip we’ve incorporated into our routines that has impacted our health in a positive manner. We’ll also share some things that are really good for you but we haven’t been able to make them stick in our own routines (like ice baths, brr!), as you may find you’re able to add them to your weekly routine. We’ll do a live event and share them on our social media pages. We will also send a link to your email (if you’ve signed up to get our emails).
Each week you can watch and decide if you’d like to add that week’s health tip to your regimen. If not, try the tip from the next week. Pick a few things over the year to work. At the end of 2022, evaluate. Just see if your health has improved. Then do the same for the next year.
Full Year Resolutions – Your Future Self Deserves It!
Carla and I are true believers. We know that if we encourage our present selves to make a few sacrifices, a few small but important changes, our future selves reap the benefits. And it is SO WORTH IT! Make a few sacrifices this year for your future self and just see what happens.
If you have questions or any successes you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear from you. We read all the comments on FaceBook and Instagram as well as the private messages you send.
Cheers to an amazing 2022! Happy New Year!
Love, David and Carla Meine
