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Resolve to Live a Better Life in 2008

Mark Twain once said: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream!"

As the New Year draws near, this is the time to catch the trade winds in your sails. And, to dream. Now is the time to assess where you are now, and where you want to be in terms of your mental, physical and spiritual health.

This year may have seen its share of "concessions" when it came to your exercise and diet. That's ok; we all skip workouts and indulge a little too often. That is part of life…and living!

I propose in 2008, you demand more from yourself — and more importantly, you take the time for your body. In a typical week, we might spend 50 hours a week working, 40 hours sleeping and another 40 hours with our families. That leaves 38 “discretionary” hours. If you cannot give a scant ten-percent of your discretionary hours (3-4 a week) to your most precious asset — your health — then something is wrong. And, something needs to change.

The first step to living a better life in 2008 is to set fresh goals that excite and inspire you. Goals that reside “within your comfort zone” will not provide the deep-down, visceral motivation you need to overcome bouts of fatigue to get out that door to exercise.

Pull out a sheet of paper and write down your three boldest fitness goals for the New Year. The key here is to think big. The danger of setting modest goals is that, over time, those goals become more modest — and imperceptibly, we can begin to accept less of ourselves. That leads us to grow older faster than we should. Don’t let this happen. Make 2008 the year that you surprise yourself, and everyone around you. Have you always wanted to do a triathlon or a marathon? Do you need to drop 20 pounds and keep it off? Have you tried for years, unsuccessfully, to quit smoking once and for all? This is the year to do these things.

Also, keep this important caveat in mind: these are not short-term goals; these goals comprise a lifestyle shift. Once you achieve your goals, there’s no going back. Don’t be one of the 82% of people who lose weight, or get in shape, only to put all the weight back on and fall back out of shape. Think lifestyle here: a new style… for life.

When articulating your fitness goals, make them quantitative and time-based, for example: “I am going to run the Boston Marathon on April 28th, and I will run two organized events every year thereafter.” “I will lose 20 pounds by March 1st, and I will keep it off through the year — and through every year.” “I am going to get my family into shape by organizing three family workouts a week.”

As we all know, staying motivated is the most challenging aspect of any exercise program. But when you establish a deep-down motivation to workout, you can change your destiny.

To do that, assign a cause to your fitness mission.

Pick at least some athletic events for which you will train in 2008 and do them on behalf of a charity dear to your heart. If you lost a friend or family member to breast cancer, for example, then run some 5k’s benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and train, and race, with your loved one in your heart. There is also the “CARE I am Powerful Workout” campaign, in which you can fight poverty simply by exercising! (www.care.org/workout). When you can learn to “exercise outside of yourself” and on behalf of those who need your help; when you know that every step you take will bring relief to people who are in pain, that provides an extraordinarily powerful motivation to work out.

New Year’s resolutions are not cliché and they are not made simply to be broken. They are about setting off in a New Year, with a clean slate to live a better, healthier life, to seize the day and to feel extraordinary. This is about holding yourself to a new, higher standard — and following through on your goals. Living better will naturally inspire and elevate those around you to do the same.

Lifestyle

ORGANIC FOOD BAR is more than a bar, it’s a lifestyle.

Eating ORGANIC FOOD BARS will enhance your health and help redefine your relationship with food. Understanding how food affects our health and making smarter, more instinctual food choices for yourself and your family each day are two essential steps to living your best life.

We founded ORGANIC FOOD BAR to help you look, feel and live healthier. It’s that simple. It’s why we’ve created the world’s healthiest food bar. It’s why we form partnerships with worthy health organizations here and aboard. It’s why we provide “official energy support” at events each year. It’s why we present the RAISE THE BAR podcast to you each week. And, it’s why we’ve created this “Live the lifestyle” section of the website.

Each week, we will post a new column here with one goal: to help you live your best life. If you have a topic you’d like us to cover, just let us know!