15 minutes for the New Year

I wanted to have one last post before the New Year. It’s been a great year at Gymfinity and next year will be even better.

New Years is a time to make resolutions. People swear off candy, drinking, cussing, smoking and other resolved changes that usually don’t take long to reverse.  Maybe instead of setting our sites on the big changes, we should start small. Really it’s the small things that affect real change anyway, so why not make our resolutions like little baby steps because even baby steps become long strides if a little persistance is added.

Or rather than giving up something this year, why not start something?

What if we make the New Year our time to start volunteering. Maybe explain to our children how they can change the world with just a little effort, show them how easy it is to make a difference. We can help them donate to a charity, and explain how their little donation multiplied by many others can save a life, or a tree, or an animal. Maybe we can teach our children to be altruistic. Wouldn’t that be a great resolution?

What if we resolve to guarentee our kids at least 15 minutes of un-interupted time every day. 15 minutes before bed, or over breakfast, after school or after gymnastics (at Gymfinity of course).

Maybe we could resolve to say hello to more people, be open to meeting others, brightening their day. It’s a fact that when you share a smile with someone, they’ll be there on your gloomiest day to give it right back. Maybe we can resolve to be more friendly, give 15 minutes to others, listening and not talking. What a great gift that would be.

How about we resolve to start the tradition of walking to the corner, or around the block after dinner. Your body would like it, so would your kids or pets and it’s a far site better than  hitting the couch. Hey that could be your 15 kid minutes right there, now we’re thinking efficiently!

What about one night a week without TV. Ok, that would kill me, forget that one.

I have an idea. What about resolving to read a book this year. Let your kids see you do it. Talk to them about the beauty of escaping into a good story and help them find a book for themselves. I remember in grade school, we had QRT (Quiet Reading Time) for 15 minutes a day, it was a great break and led us to want more QRTs because we learned to love reading. There is another option for our 15 minutes, hey this isn’t so hard.

Seriously, what about this 15 minute thing? Small changes? 15 minutes doesn’t seem too much to ask out of a day of 1440 minutes. 15 minutes to change the world, to show your love, to inspire a child, to get healthy, to simply be better.  Starting small seems like an easy and attainable plan. Maybe instead of giving up a vice we can invest 15 minutes in virtue.  Lets make that our resolution and lets stick to it.

Our change can start small but the ripple of our littlest actions can change the whole world forever.

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