(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

The year is almost over and it’s time to declare those New Year’s resolutions. If you’re like me - and I wouldn’t want to lay that curse on you - my list of resolutions usually repeat more often than my playlists on Spotify.

Lose weight. Get organized. Quit FaceBook. Sound familiar? So, I’m determined to make 2023 different. I’m so serious about the coming year’s resolutions…I cheated…and started in October.

Losing weight was in danger of becoming a perennial topper on my resolutions list. Apparently, there’s more to resolutions than simply writing down some lofty goal. You have to commit to it…which I finally did.

I’ve never been one to follow some fad diet that allows you to shed pounds…for awhile…only to re-gain them and more a year or so later. What I call “the pleasures of the table” - good food, good wine and sparkling conversation - with friends and family is an important part of my life. It has always been so…and I don’t see that changing.

It makes sense to me that if you burn more calories than you consume…you’ll lose weight. The problem is…I wasn’t doing that. You can eat less…exercise more…or ideally…do both. The love of my life - Bonnie - bought me a Fitbit Activity Tracker for my birthday in late September…and I’m taking a lot more steps each day than before…thousands more.

And those late-night raids on the refrigerator…more memory than not. Desserts? I think I’ve had three since October 1.

I’ve lost 24 pounds the last three months…and I’ll lose more in 2023. What needed to change wasn’t just the numbers on my bathroom scales…I had to change my attitude. That was - for me - the secret.

Simple really…and all too obvious. Instead of focusing on losing weight…I made it about feeling good. I decided to not make it about looking good in my jeans. It was about not falling asleep in my chair every night. It was about having more energy and…duh…being healthier.

I actually picked up four bags of sugar in my local grocery store a couple weeks ago and walked a few aisles holding them. “That,” I said under my breath to no one near, “is what losing 20 pounds feels like!” I’ve added working out with resistance bands every other day to my walking regimen.

My blood pressure is down…with help from a 5 mg drug and exercise…and a sensible diet. It is a lifestyle change…and one I can embrace the rest of my life. I still dine well…drink fine wines…and enjoy gathering around the table with friends and family.

Funny, but actually it’s not about numbers per se…not how many pounds you lose…even blood pressure numbers or blood sugar levels. It’s about leading a healthier more vibrant life. My New Year’s resolutions - a year from now - for 2024 won’t include…lose weight.

So, what are my other resolutions for next week? Carpe Diem!…seize the day…something I’ve been pretty good at most of my life but I can always do better. I’m 72…middle aged.

Make random acts of kindness less random…why not every day do something that makes someone else’s life a little better. I bet I can do that.

Stop multi-tasking…and if you cross paths with the guy who first said it was a thing, ask him, “WTF?”

I’m going to be as kind to myself as I am to others…and being kind to others will be an imperative.

People I care about will get actual letters from me…because it’s hard - if not impossible - to feel sincerity, love, respect and admiration…in a text or email.

I’m going to do my best to not waste time with negative people who suck positivity from everyone and every thing they touch.

I’m terrible about spraying on sunscreen…here in Florida or in the Okanagan. Hint: it’s really sunny in both places…and while Bonnie and I have four seasons each year…they’re pretty much two Springs and two Summers.

I want to clean and organize enough drawers in both homes that if we got hit by a beer truck, the people settling our estate wouldn’t say: “What was wrong with them, anyway?”

Of course, you realize what makes it more likely that you keep your New Year’s resolutions?

Write them down. And if you’re really bold…publish them.

I wish you good health and much happiness in 2023!

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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