I always think I’ve slept through my alarm and I’m going to be late.
Paranoid, you say?
They’ll tell you: I cannot get out of bed in the morning.
It keeps your appetite in check, makes you happier and increases your attention span.
The best way to embark on this blissful path?
Establish a consistent sleep and rise schedule and stick to it, even on weekends.
Sounds easy enoughand definitely worthwhile if it means waking up feeling peaceful instead of dreadful.
So I vowed to give early-to-bed a try.
I forced myself to turn in by 11 every night.
Slowly, I started to get better at ending my day earlierto look forward to it, even.
I began eating better, thinking more sharply and feeling calmer.
With the back seat now full of kidsmine and others’I needed to hit the brakes.
The speedometer inched up on the way there.
Not doing so is viewed as gross and irresponsible.
Jabbing thread between your teeth, drawing blood and torpedoing stale food morsels onto the bathroom mirror?
I have plenty of excuses for flossing on only a semiregular basis.
as if holding on to body parts is a stubborn affectation.
My crowded mouth makes flossing difficult.
I have to painstakingly saw the thread in, then yank back before it slices into my sensitive gums.
I promised myself I would upgrade from sporadic to daily sessions.
This basic yet brilliant strategy tipped me into the camp of habitual flossing.
Three weeks later, my teeth and gums felt cleaner.
There was less bloodshed.
I imagined it would be easy to keep conversations on the up-and-up.
The first days were a snarl of dilemmas: I had never noticed how much sniping people did!
“What’s the latest with so-and-so?”
I’d pause self-consciously, trying to figure out how to respond.
That included hearing news as well as spreading it.
I took three steps, then stopped.
“I can’t,” I said.
“I’m trying not to gossip.”
She gave me a funny look.
“You’re kidding.
Call me when you’re done.”
Not gossiping can be isolating, but it’s also illuminating.
And noticing this helped me pause and focus again on the person at hand.
I pounded out every run in the pink glow of dawn.
Each fall, when I crossed the 26.2-mile finish line, I was totally burned out.
By spring, another marathon was a necessity.
A bear cannot rock a sundress.
This approach was a little extreme.
Nervously, I set this as my new routine.
A 10-minutebike ridehere or 20 minutes of jogging there didn’t disrupt my life one bit.
Certain muscles I’d neglected during my cardio-only days were getting attention for the first time in years.
I did not achieve Madonna’sbicepsordrop a dress size, but I do feel leaner and more toned.
In fact, I’ve never really been on one in my whole life.
Achallengeis different, though.
It lasts for a finite period and requires as few rules as I’d like to attach to it.
So I challenged myself to replace processed grains withwhole grainsfor three weeks.
I would get more fiber and vitamins and maximize my health benefits at every eating opportunity.
If it’s not there, it’s not a whole-grain product.
The mantra that made my life the easiest: Embrace laziness.
Rather than seeking out the best boxed bran muffin mix, I simply skipped the muffins.
With my approach, I ate less, felt much lighter and didn’t crave a single potato chip.
In fact, I still feel this way.
My challenge had legs.Jenny Rosenstrach
How to Keep Your Resolutions All Year!
