Connected Care Blog | Dr Irwin Lim | Arthritis Care

Here's my New Year's Resolution. What's yours?

Written by Dr Irwin Lim | 02-Jan-2012 21:05:31

I don't often make New Year's resolutions and I don't usually tell anyone. I suppose the rules change when you blog.

The resolution for 2012 is (surprise, surprise):

TO BE HEALTHIER

Now, that must be a common, mundane, and often unfulfilled resolution. How many of you have resolved to lose weight come the new year?

Having mulled it over, I believe it's useless to make such resolutions without a WHY and a HOW?

There has to be clearly set-out achievable targets. Something to promote accountability. To increase the change of successfully achieving the resolution. So, I'll tell you mine:

WHY?

  1. I want to feel Better. I want to get through the day with more energy, and be more alert & efficient.
  2. I turn 40 this year. I'm hoping to live to about 90 & would like those years to be relatively illness-free. Luck & genetics will play a role in this wish, but I thought I should try to improve the odds.

HOW?

These will be my targets & my KPIs (Key Performance Indicators):

  1. Sleep More. 7 hours on at least 5 days a week. Since I wake up at 6am, I will put my laptop to sleep & get into bed before 10.45 pm.
  2. Exercise More. My Xmas present, the Keiser M3 Indoor Cycle is getting a workout. The mission is to keep it up - at least 30 minutes working up a sweat, 4 days a week.
  3. Eat better. Our family Chef, my wife, has been seeing Monica Kubizniak to help improve our nutrition. We now eat a larger quantity & variety of fibre & legumes, our food is much less processed, breakfast has become more central & we are just more aware of what we put into our mouths.
  4. Holidays. I will have at least 4 weeks away this year with my family. And attempt to not bring (too much of) my work with me.

Many of you must have made health-related resolutions. If you haven't done so, take some time to consider the WHY, so that you can work out the HOW?

Please write a comment & make your resolution public. Be accountable.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!