Since we’ll be starting a new year, isn’t it time to make your New Year’s resolution? Now hold on! You may feel New Year’s resolutions are just a waste of time: you’ve lived this long, so why change now?
But think about it. There might be some new habits you want to make or some old ones you want to break. What was your doctor telling you? Join an exercise class or start walking with a friend? Or eat better by reducing your salt and fat intake? Things you never worried about but now realize how important they are.
If you decide New Year’s resolutions might not be such a bad idea, here are nine tips to help from the book Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.
- Write your resolution down and be specific. Instead of “make new friends” describe how – such as “start a movie group” or “join an exercise class”.
- Review your resolution constantly so you won’t forget.
- Hold yourself accountable. Don’t make excuses.
- Think big. Make your resolution inspiring and exciting.
- Or think small. Something simple and doable.
- Separate your resolution, no matter how small, into manageable tasks.
- Work on your resolution every day. It is easier to do something consistently than to skip days.
- Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The best exercise is the one you will do.
- As mentioned before, don’t make excuses, BUT if you keep breaking your resolution, no use constantly beating yourself up. Try a different approach that will get you to the same goal.
These suggestions can help you set and achieve your goal for the new year. Because as Carl Bard said, “Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending”.
If you must go outside when there’s ice and snow on the ground, don’t forget to “walk like a penguin”: pointing your feet out slightly; bending your knees and keeping them loose; extending your arms out to your side and hands out of your pockets; and taking short steps or waddling. Wear shoes or boots with traction. And try some defensive walking: assume all wet and dark areas on the pavement are icy – especially around snowbanks where the melt–off freezes overnight.
Whether it’s icy or not, this is a good time to remember falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults. So, don’t rush, stay focused, and “walk like a penguin”!
Brain Tease: See if you can read this New Year’s quote.
.rettiuq a sekil ydobon taht derebmemer I ,nehT .raeY weN eht ni stibah dab ym fo lla pots ot gniog saw I
The child actor who was Hollywood’s top box-office attraction from 1935 through 1938 was Shirley Temple.
When you read this, I’ll be lying on the beach in my Speedo swimsuit covered with baby oil getting that perfect tan to impress the girls when I get back home! Wait a minute! Sorry, I was reliving a memory from too many years ago. Let me start again. When you read this, I’ll be sitting at a picnic table with my wife with any bare skin covered with SPF 160 sunscreen; watching all the bronzed young surfers in water that’s much too cold. So when I get back, I’ll mention all of you who sent in the correct answers for this week and next.
This prolific American author and former lawyer was best known for the Perry Mason series of legal detective stories. For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the name of this author who at the time of his death was the best-selling American writer of the 20th century? Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788, or send it with his first Perry Mason novel, The Case of the Velvet Claws, published in 1933.
Well, it’s been another week, waiting to turn the page. Until we meet again, may the new year be all that you hope for.
“Lighten up, just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don’t get so worked up about things.” Kenneth Branagh
Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) – Mondays and Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Townhall (541-308-5997) – Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).
For meal sites in Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or the White Salmon office (509-493-3068), and in Skamania County call Senior Services (509-427-3990).
Answer: “I was going to stop all of my bad habits in the New Year. Then, I remembered that nobody likes a quitter.”
