Sweat & Smiles: Those New Year's Resolutions
By Melissa Romano on December 29, 2018 from Sweat & Smiles
I am much more likely to create a new year resolution when it is my birthday than the beginning of a calendar year. I’ve always been an advocate of making changes right when you know a change needs to be made. However, there is something to be said of a fresh start or a clean slate. Each year we’ll experience trials and triumphs, joy and grief, days that fly by, and some that never seem to end. It is up to us how 
we choose to handle, react, and spend those experiences.
we choose to handle, react, and spend those experiences.
That’s why as one year ends instead of focusing on the surface stuff like weight loss or diets turn all of your attention to really getting down to the bottom of things.
Working in the fitness industry for so long I’ve spent a lot of time talking to others about New Year Resolutions. Some research suggests that 80% of New Year Resolutions fail by the end of February. I believe it’s because our focus remains on the things that are byproducts of the real problem. We’re addressing the symptoms and not the wounds.
This is why instead of resolutions I started setting intentions. Intention setting gives me the space to keep evaluating and reevaluating what I really need. Intention setting keeps me focused by redirecting my thoughts, goals, and actions and always coming back to what I really want to do, be, and have.
My intention for 2018 was surrender. I chose that intention because my heart needed to not feel constricted and my mind needed to not hurt from tension. I knew that if I didn’t start surrendering that I would be blocking every positive and blessed thing that tried to enter my life.
Nikita Chopra said, “there is beauty in surrender. You want to feel clearer, freer, and you surrender to let love in. Surrendering unblocks passages. It re-routes us on the path of love because it is through our releasing that places our faith back into love instead of fear. You are not giving up, or causing the situation to mean nothing, you are releasing control. You are literally weighing your options to see if something makes you feel heavy or light.”
I spent the year following through with this intention. I made decisions out of inspiration and not desperation. I followed through on the heart of the company I started, You First. I started You First because I knew the greatest investment any person can make is in themselves. As a mother I know that in order to do and be the best for my son I have to take care of myself.
For me, it’s not just about fitness. In fact, after a decade in the fitness industry I have learned that fitness is the smaller aspect of a person’s health. The most important thing we can do for ourselves and our health is to pay attention. Pay attention to your body’s cues, pay attention to your emotional wellbeing, relearn how to be kind to yourself. Show yourself the same grace that you are so willing to show to those you love.
2018 brought me some of my greatest grief as well as some of my greatest joy. Surrender brought me through it all. My final surrender for the year was in retiring the company I started which gives me a great setup to spend the weekend turning all of my attention to really getting down to the bottom of things.
What would you like to get to the bottom of in 2019? What intention would you like to set for the year ahead?
Sweat & Smiles,
Melissa
