What's Your Identity?

Wow. It’s January 4th already (my daughter’s 3rd birthday)… and not a single new post on The Health Blog about New Year’s resolutions or anything!

Last year I set out to kick my coffee habit. That didn’t happen. I did give it up for a couple weeks, but then was right back at it… for the rest of the year.

I skipped coffee this morning, in my 2nd effort to become healthier.

I guess one good thing is that I gave up sugar in my coffee in September 2004… and I’ve never looked back. In fact, it tastes too sweet to have any kind of sugar in my coffee now. (I’ve sipped my wife’s and nearly died from sugar shock.)

I believe achieving greater health is not so much about resolutions as it is changing how you perceive yourself. Do you call yourself a coffee drinker? Do you identify with that label? If so, it will be hard for you to give it up.

It’s the same way with other issues. If you say, “I am a fat person,” you’ve affirmed your identity… and hurt your chances of becoming thin.

Better to say, “I am a thin person. I just have some weight to lose.”

You need to see yourself as a thin person before you will be thin.

It’s the same way with my coffee. I must see myself as a “green drink drinker” instead of a Starbucks zealot before I can make any real progress.

By the way, that is what I drank this morning: my green drink. (I’ll share more about that later.)

In other news, my workouts are going great. Ever since my wife and I joined the new club this past October, we’ve been far more consistent. In fact, we’re back to our pre-children workout schedule! (3 times a week, 30 minutes of cardio, 45-60 minutes of weight lifting.)

Since we’ve been on that schedule for 2 months now, we’re starting to see some positive results: endurance is up, muscle mass is up, we’re increasing our weights, etc.

I guess that’s it for now. Be back in a few days with more.