I hate new years resolutions.  

And I don’t make them.  

I’m not alone.  Less Americans each year are participating in the January 1 ritual. The reason: because the only thing certain about most New Years Resolutions is that you will probably fail at them.  And since failing just really sucks, why make the resolution in the first place🤔?  

I’ve seen stats that say as many as 40% of people abandon their well thought our plans by the end of January, 80% by March, and only 8% of New Years Resolutions are kept throughout the year!

The larger question though is: why do we all walk away from our goals for healthier, happier, and more fulfilled lives?  And I believe the answer involves a combination of lack of support, boredom, lack of progress, and the psychology of setting ourselves up to fail.  

We’ve all done that, haven’t we?  We determined to start training 5 days per week, avoid all sugars, never yell at our spouse again, and always be positive.  (wow, lot of alls and nevers in that sentence😱). It’s no wonder we don’t do resolutions.  

Perhaps the problem isn’t the resolution, perhaps the problem is what we are resolving to do and how we do it.

What if we resolved to simply become better people in 2017?  To be healthier, more social, with better attitudes and maybe even liking ourselves a bit more.  Now that is a goal that I could aim for.  

That’s exactly why I am so excited about introducing rock climbing to so many new people in 2017.  Hardly a day goes by that I don’t ask someone at Bliss Bouldering and Climbing Complex what they love about the gym.  The answers are always something along the general themes of ‘great friendships and people’, ‘something new every day’, ‘most fun I have ever had getting in shape’, ‘it’s my stress release’, or ‘confidence building’. 

I believe very strongly that climbing changes lives.  It has the potential to influence every important area of our lives.  

Obviously physically: climbing builds lean body mass, body awareness, endurance and coordination.  Mentally: rock climbing has been linked to improved problem solving and brain development, as well as fostering of traits such as determination, confidence, and tenaciousness.

However, climbing also supports us emotionally.  Research has shown significant links to decreasing depression, increasing sense of well being, and even treating brain disorders such as Asperger’s syndrome and autism.

But I think perhaps the best part of climbing is the community.  Climbing provides one of those rare activities where two individuals of vastly different skill or conditioning levels can participate in together and both can experience challenge and success.  Those very activities then naturally lead to encouraging each other, great friendships, and even romances and the procreation of new climbers (verified by the number of young climbing couples that we have bringing their new born children to the gym😍😍).

I’m still not a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions, but I am pretty sure that 2017 is going to result in a better version of me thanks in large part to the courage, confidence, and community that naturally flows from the Bliss experience.

I can resolve to that.

Happy New Year, climb hard and . . .

Follow Your Bliss,

David