New Year's Revolution!!

Change. It is hard to do. You would think that I would have an easier time with it since professionally my position involves a lot of change management. It is one thing to "sell" a group of people on changes within a team or organization. "This is a better way to do it." "It will allow you to be more efficient in your position and therefore more successful." "It will provide more customer satisfaction for our customers." "It will position us competitively because we are doing things cheaper, faster, smarter." and as a last resort, "Because this is how we do it now." I could go on, but the point is I am no stranger to change and even driving others to change.

But this is not a discussion of my professional abilities. This is personal. The divide between the two has always been an issue for me. Where I have taken a disciplined and rationale approach to my education and career, my personal life has been a series of whims and broken commitments. Guess which one has been more successful.

Recently I had a discussion with a good friend almost 30 years my senior. Like me she struggles with staying on an exercise regimen even though it has been suggested (ordered?) by her doctor. I also saw an inspirational post on Facebook or Pinterest reminding me that in order to include exercise successfully in one's life it is a commitment of one hour a day. One hour a day! How is it possible that I find that impossible?

Exercise is only one example. I dream of being a vegan, or at least close. I don't have the patience to check labels for the hint of honey or egg white that often turns up in vegetarian foods, but I do believe in the benefits of a vegan diet. A longtime interest of mine, my main source of recent inspiration came from Kathy Freston's 2011 book Veganist which promotes moving towards a plant based diet as a progression rather than cold turkey or should I say cold "tofurkey". Alas, I have spent the last six months gorging on cheese, more cheese, topped with cheese and then fried. Followed by dessert of chocolate, topped with chocolate, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, of course covered in chocolate sauce and don't forget the chocolate sprinkles. That extra five pounds, turned to an extra 10 pounds, and now I just refuse to get on the scale. If the fit of my clothes are any indication some serious change management is needed pronto.

There are other areas I would like to make some changes. I want to write more (Hey! Look at me go!). I want to read more. I want to travel more. I want to see more live music. I want to smoke not at all and drink less. I want to . . . . live purposefully and experience everything I can out of life. I want to be healthy and feel good doing it.

Today is December 27. I am not looking to make New Year's resolutions, but have a New Year's Revolution! I am going to change manage myself:

• "This is a better way to do it." - Eating a more plant based diet is a healthier diet. 
• "It will allow you to be more efficient in your position and therefore more successful."  - Exercise will give me more energy, acuteness, and stress relief for more happiness.
• "It will provide more customer satisfaction for our customers." - Everyone in my life will get a better me. 
• "It will position us competitively because we are doing things cheaper, faster, smarter." - A better diet and more exercise will make me look and feel better making me more competitive on the dating scene (hubba hubba), a whole foods natural diet is cheaper, and exercise is free as there is no charge for many wonderful physical activities. 

And if all of my change management knowledge falls short of motivating me, then we go with the last resort:

"Because this is how we do it now." Change is not an option. There is still too much I want to do. Too much I want to be. Too much I want to discover.

"A warrior ... feeds his body well; he trains it; works on it. Where he lacks knowledge, he studies. But above all he must believe. He must believe in his strength of will, of purpose, of heart and soul." - David Gemmell