Ooph! I’ve returned to my pre-holiday exercise routine…well, mostly…and the going is getting, well, it isn’t exactly what it was a couple of months ago. I expect for the next few weeks, I’ll be making up for those lose workouts (if a flare doesn’t get in the way). It’s all a part of the up and down of health, with a little bit of life thrown in for good measure.  I’ve learned to forgive the time when a flare or other reason sets me back. Which brings to mind those sometimes-pesky New Year’s Resolutions.

Remember them? Or, are they already forgotten?

There’s something about enthusiastically promising to do something healthy, new and awesome as the calendar turns from December to January, and then, a few weeks later, slipping, sliding, and forgetting what all the fuss was in the first place. Anecdotally, I’ve heard more than one physical therapist or trainer say that gyms are over-crowded the first week of January, and then attendance dwindles to pre-holiday levels fairly quickly, never to burgeon again until the following January 1. I can’t believe this happens because people are lazy or slacking, or that they’ve decided that exercise just isn’t important or worth the effort.

No, I’m wondering if it’s not because there’s a heap of guilt that starts to weigh down (pardon the pun) good intentions, and that erodes resolve, and eventually, resolutions get shelved.

I don’t exactly make New Year’s Resolutions. Rather, I look up on January as a fresh start to a wonderful, new cycle of life, including exercising and doing other healthful things. But, if I get sidetracked (and lupus and other chronic illnesses will do this more often than once), I don’t get despondent, and I don’t feel guilty about the time I’m losing while resting and taking care. No, I do what needs to be done, and then move right along again when I can.

As we near the end of January, and some resolutions are already discarded (yours aren’t, I know, but others’ probably are), I just thought I’d mention that forgiving the lapses helps us move into a better place, where we can forget “failure” and forge ahead, once again, to health.

Blessings for the day!

Maureen