How is your 2026 going so far? Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Are you keeping them? I resolved not to make any resolutions — it works every time!
In all seriousness, the new year really is a great time to make a fresh start. The indulgences of the holidays are still weighing you down (perhaps literally), and you are facing a few months of decreased activity, sunlight, and energy. But there are things you can do to offset that. Winter can be a great time to get the ball rolling. Just imagine how great you will feel come springtime if you are already in shape and twenty pounds lighter!
This year, I’m not going to explain to you what to do for healthy New Year’s resolutions. That’s pretty easy, and most everyone knows the basics: eat less, sleep more, take your supplements, find indoor exercise. Let’s skip those instructions because everybody says that. Instead of focusing on what your resolutions are, I want to focus on your why.
What is your “why”?
The why part is easy on the surface, but a little tougher when you go a little deeper. For example, if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to eat healthier, why do you want to eat healthier? So you can lose weight? Okay, but that’s just going one level deep. Why lose weight? To look better? To prepare for a beach vacation? To be healthier? You need to push deep and find your why. Looking better is a great goal — as long as it’s not just about vanity. Is looking great important because that means you’re healthy, or you just “look” better than the people around you? Sometimes that reasoning is okay. A good choice based on a bad premise can still result in you becoming healthier. Think of the person who chooses a ketogenic lifestyle to lose weight, who then notices that their depression is gone.
Then imagine the person who decides to run a marathon. What’s the why there? Almost no one runs a marathon just to get the medal at the end—that’s just not worth it to most. Most people who run marathons do it to accomplish a goal, to rise above their own mental limitations and show themselves what they are capable of. Running a marathon shows you that you can accomplish great things, hard things. But think of the person who runs a marathon and inadvertently inspires their sedentary friend to start walking a block or two. Some people run marathons (or even just 5Ks) primarily to inspire those around them to do bigger things. That’s a great why!
Some people just choose to start. Start something…anything. And a new year is just as good of a reason as a birthday or anniversary of something important. An excuse for a fresh start is sometimes all we need. Most people know they need to change their life’s trajectory. But having a big “why” makes it all the better.
Finding My Own Why
I will give you an example of my own personal why: why I dove into the whole new world of nutritional medicine nearly two decades ago. There were a couple of whys that came together. The first one was noticing that the miracles I used to see all the time with chiropractic alone were getting less and less frequent. I heard from a number of sources that it had to do with the general health of Americans. Much of this was due to the declining quality of our lifestyles, mostly our diet. More processed foods, fewer fresh foods, more seed oils and sugar, fewer healthy fats and protein. I knew I had to help the people coming to see me get back to the state where chiropractic could once again be the facilitator of miracles.
The other event was my son, Parker, getting diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008. That was an even bigger driver of my desire to master nutrition and functional medicine. Cancer is a combination of genetics and lifestyle. I thought that if I could improve his health through diet and supplements, perhaps he could beat the cancer. Unfortunately, he did not, but I like to think his quality of life and brain function were higher than they would have been otherwise, and at least helped him have more quality in his life towards the end. Fighting for your own family’s health is a pretty powerful why.
Let Your “Why” Lead Your New Year’s Resolutions Choices
The famous philosopher Nietzsche famously said, “He who has a why to live for, can bear almost any how.” Meaning that when you have a why that is important enough for you to make a change, the how will take care of itself; you’ll seemingly automatically find a way to make things happen. I remember a story about a man who tried and failed to quit smoking numerous times and then was finally able to quit overnight. What happened? His daughter came to him one night, half crying, saying, “Daddy, please quit smoking. I want to dance with you at my wedding!” The thought of killing himself with cigarettes was suddenly put into perspective. He quit that night. Can you find that level of motivation within you? The choice is yours to work toward your New Year’s resolutions, but it begins today. Your diet, your exercise, your lifestyle. Your mental attitude. The people you choose to be around. All of these things contribute to your long-term health—mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual. Start making the hard choices today, so your future self can make some easy ones. Your future self is waiting for you to decide.
Dr. Burtis, D.C., M.S., CFMP, DACBN, has been providing natural healthcare to the Fairmont area at Burtis Chiropractic Center for over 35 years. He uses a combination of chiropractic, nutrition, and functional medicine to help individuals restore and maintain health and healing through individualized care plans. The mission of Burtis Chiropractic Center is to provide transformational healthcare that takes an individual’s life to the next level. We strive to be a solution for families to experience transformational healthcare and help create vibrant and resilient lifestyles that can be passed to future generations.
