A New Year's Resolution: Finding Joy

Welcome to my first post of 2012. I hope the first week of the New Year has been kind and gentle. The Chinese Year of the Dragon promises excitement and intensity.

The perennial buzzwords of the season seem to be cleanse, purge and gym membership. A few friends are starting cleanses. Others are trying to kick sugar. My aunt in California is starting an exercise  program to shed the extra holiday pounds.

My source of holiday bulge. 

I intend to abandon the mindless nibbling and social eating I've been doing everyday for the last two weeks. But how do I make the change stick throughout the year, beyond the first few weeks after the  holidays?

Solution: Find the joy. Get happy!

That's the advice from my friend Brenda.

She reminded me that when we find joy in whatever we do, that whatever is no longer work. It becomes   a source of happiness. And we can all use a healthy dose of happiness.

So the question becomes: how does dragging my ass into the gym at 6:30 A.M. bring me joy? How does quitting sugar bring me joy? For me, the answer is in the inverse: what does NOT bring me joy? Feeling bloated, overindulgent and unwell does not bring me joy.

I arrive at this conclusion: I am joyful when my body feels right and balanced. Ergo, clean eating brings me joy.

I must confess, I had a sugary dessert tonight. It was the last of five panettones from the holidays. The gluten and sugar are working their madness on my system.

I will get back to more mindful eating. Tomorrow.  I need to keep finding the joy!