I can hardly believe it’s the New Year already. It seems like it was just last week that we were celebrating the beginning of 2022 giving further evidence to that age old adage – time flies! As a matter of fact, I always see this celebrated event – the end of one year and the beginning of another – as an annual and powerful reminder of the passage of time.
There is just something magical and extraordinary about this yearly time marker that symbolizes the end of one thing while, at the same time, signifies the beginning of something totally new. The image of a relay race comes to mind as one runner ends their leg of the contest and, while still in full stride, hands off the baton to the next runner who continues running the race. In this analogy, New Year’s Eve is the flashpoint in your personal life journey where the baton is symbolically handed off each year from the old you to the new you.
Of course, in your real-life journey, you don’t have the benefit of fresh legs of trained teammates to pass the baton to because you must run each leg of this contest yourself. So, if you consider each year of your life as one leg of the race, let me ask you this question. How happy are you with how you’re running the race of your life so far? Are you ready to receive the baton from 2022 and are you prepared to run with it full-throttle toward the finish line in 2023? What I’m trying to address and focus on here today is the continuity that you need from year to year to achieve your heartfelt goals. This symbolic baton can be anything that you wish to change, improve or start in the New Year. We typically refer to these goals, aspirations and new behaviors as New Year Resolutions and they are typically centered around thoughts and actions that will improve your life in some way. Two of the most common yearly resolutions are to lose weight and to start exercising but the sky’s the limit when it comes to making verbal commitments to resolutions for the New Year.
So, with that said, here is my primary question for you today as you think about what this New Year will ultimately mean to you, your life and your health. Are you going to simply and mindlessly just celebrate the passing of one year and the introduction of another year OR are you ready to flip that switch inside your head, take charge of your life and start closing the gap between who you are and who you truly want to be this year? If you’re still with me, here’s what I recommend.
I suggest that you make 2023 a serious year of action, progress and change. For example, just think about what an incredible year this would be if you really put your mind, heart and soul into losing weight and getting healthy this year. Heart, soul and a relentless goal-oriented effort is what it takes to create real change in your life because, when running this race, nothing really happens unless YOU make it happen. And this is the ideal time to start making it happen because the desire, mindset and motivation for change is typically strongest at the beginning of each year.
So I hope that you all hear my clarion call today and give some serious thought to what it is that you want to accomplish in 2023. For most of you reading this today, I know that weight loss and healthy living are a top priority in your life at the moment. I hope that you capitalize on that desire for wellness by making this THE YEAR where you finally grab that health baton, lose that excess weight and run the race of your life in 2023. If you take my advice and choose to do so, 2023 will truly be a magnificent and transformational year to remember!
Wishing you Great Health,
Dr. John H. Sklare
The Inner Diet
This article was originally posted in 2020 and updated in 2023.
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