With Christmas just a couple of weeks away, many people are thinking about the traditions of the season and celebrations to come. One such tradition that I have never really taken to is the New Year’s resolution. The whole “new year, new you” thing has always felt odd to me.

Why do you need a calendar to get rid of bad habits or make a positive change in your life? What one really needs is commitment and dedication. Gyms across the country will be booming for the first few weeks of January, only to slowly fade back to normal.  Big box retailers will have sales on the latest fitness equipment, diet meals and smoking cessation aids.

Don’t misunderstand me, I am all for someone turning their life around, I just feel that making a New Year resolution has become more a fad than a commitment. The first change that has to happen is the mind, not the calendar. Once the mind is in the right place, that’s when the magic happens.

A person becomes dedicated to the new lifestyle, the feeling of being fit. The strange thing is, with this comes other changes. You no longer want the same things in life. One starts to view life differently, priorities change. Over the course of months and years, you become a completely different person. You might not realize this until there is a reminder thrown at you, like an old picture of yourself or you run into an old friend.

Nearly four years ago, I put on some cheap shoes that I had bought at Wal-Mart and I tried to run. In my mind, I wasn’t a runner, I was a wannabe. Slowly, I became a runner, but I started experiencing life more as I ran more. My perspectives changed, I no longer wanted the same things out of life.

As I have continued to evolve, I have come to the conclusion that I don’t belong in the job I have been doing. Not that I’m unhappy, it just not where I am destined to be, as if my universe is out of sync. So today, after 8+ years of working at the same auto body shop, I gave my notice.

January 1st, I will start a new chapter in my life. For the last few months, I have been working part-time at my local Fleet Feet and I have decided to go full-time with them. It is a scary but exciting change in my life, but I am looking forward to not just going running, but living it.