It will be a wonderful day when we wake up knowing today we will live by the unwritten Thanksgiving rule: today, we can eat whatever we want. After all, this is an eating holiday. My Thanksgiving 2021 newsletter presented some research supporting you will not gain weight from a meal or day of overeating. So why not eat to your heart's content on Thanksgiving and enjoy our eating holiday?
I did get a little pushback on that supposition. Thanksgiving is not just one meal or day; it generally stretches beyond New Year's Eve. And for some, that can be a long time, especially if you are dealing with health concerns easily affected by a change in your eating habits.
But I still support my original premise that overeating one meal or day will make little difference. So stick with what works for you, and Happy Thanksgiving Eating!
But even better than permission to overeat, Thanksgiving is the start of the Holiday season. And we also get excited about the opportunity to make those New Year Resolutions that unfortunately disappear almost as soon as we make them.
Why do we do that? Why do we make those Resolutions, those promises to ourselves and others that, statistically, are out of our minds within two months? I checked with some reputable sources for a logical reason or solution to this dilemma, Psychology Today, ACTIVE, USNews, INC., The Conversation. I discovered that there are as many answers as Resolutions made.
Here is a sampling of what you will find if you read the above links:
You did not make a resolution in the first place!
You did not: create milestones and reward yourself,
write it down,
post your Resolutions on social media, or
make short and long-term goals
It was too challenging,
AND, you still need to do something with last year's resolutions!
Do any of these sound familiar? The bottom line is that you may be reading this because they do, and you didn't!
Therefore, I would like you to consider a different approach this year. I want you to look at your Resolutions from a different perspective.
Let's assume for a moment you are Mr. or Mrs. J. Doe. And as J. Doe, you make the same or similar Resolution every year (i.e., I will do more exercise this year). You approach the Resolution from the same perspective and get the same outcome: a forgotten/dropped Resolution!
So how do we get out of this Mobius strip? How do we dream of and fulfill those Resolutions?
Here are three suggestions that I made earlier this year. These might be the Resolutions that finally make it all happen.
Think outside of the box! Think out of a new box, and change your perspective on life. See things from a different perspective.
Change your selfie! Show everyone a new and exciting side of yourself.
Change your flat tire! This time around, don't just see things differently, do things differently.
As you consider my suggestions, let's remember this is still Thanksgiving. And there is not ONE best part of Thanksgiving, there are several:
We are (finally, after Covid) around family and friends.
We are eating feel-good comfort food (Notice I did not say feel-healthy food, that is relative).
Take some time to do something fun, do an extra-long workout, or go for a beautiful walk. Hang out with friends and family, relax and chill.
Spend more time in the garden.
Put all politics aside (at least, attempt to).
AND: most importantly, eat lots of leftovers all weekend.
Eating those leftovers is an excellent time to acknowledge why you are making those New Year's resolutions. You may realize your life is currently about what you thought you should be doing, and now you need to get on with the next phase of your life, doing what you should be doing.
So by now, you should be thinking out of that new box with a new and exciting selfie. And since you have changed that flat tire, doing what you should be doing will be easier than you think. You will be seeing things from a new perspective and doing things differently. And you will accomplish those Resolutions.
Have a great Thanksgiving, and happy eating!
Your friend and fellow Bluerisa traveler,
Mark Block