Normally I don't have resolutions for the new year. They always felt contrived and too easy too easy to break. I know that it's easier to reach goals when they're SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound). This year I'm setting my resolution as getting outside more hopefully in an attempt to increase my health through moving more. I've left it more open ended so that I don't feel constrained. I plan on making other changes to finally get myself to live the life I wan. It's said that starting too many things at once can lead to your downfall. It's stressful and can easily feel overwhelming. So the big takeaway can be small changes, a little bit at a time to make it stick. I'm trying to keep this in mind while trying to be healthier and starting my year off right.

I wanted to take thirty days to really start to remember to love myself. Why 30 days? A few reasons. While I've done them before, I wanted to do a Whole30 to help address my sugar addiction. I have also recently gotten into yoga. I really enjoy Yoga With Adriene on YouTube and wanted to do this years 30 days of yoga. Both of these things I'm starting today so that both will end with January. I'm looking forward to doing a version of Paleo after the Whole30 and continue with yoga.

There's also the concept of doing things that you loved to do as a kid for exercise. The idea is that you'll still truly enjoy it and it won't feel like you're actually working out. I'm really looking forward to getting back to hiking, backpacking, and biking that have been helpful and enjoyable in the past. One of the amazing tools I love using is REI. They offer classes that are free or cheap to help with basics for different sports. Sometimes it's fun to get reinvigorated in being healthy by learning something new about a sport you like or learning a new sport related to something you already enjoy. Coming up, I'm doing a Basics of Winter Camping class so I can have all four seasons to get outdoors. I'm also taking a Hiking the Appalachian Trail basics class so I can work towards accomplishing my long term goals. I really wanted to take the snowshoeing class but unfortunately it conflicts with my schedule.

So small changes, getting outdoors, taking classes from local sports stores or community providers are the main things that I'm employing to get healthy. I also plan on wrangling friends and family into getting outdoors with me. Luckily, most of the people in my life are already into moving more. Having a support system can also be really helpful. I'm really looking forward to being where I want to be in relation to my health.