Jian Ping's column
New Year Resolutions
New Year Resolutions
By Jian Ping
January is the month when we are most inclined to make new resolutions for the year — doing
exercises five times a week, adopting a healthier diet, losing weight, or living a happier and more
balanced life. No matter how long or short the New Year resolution list is, the beginning of the year
serves well as a good start.
The most popular resolution is perhaps physical exercise. Over the years, I have witnessed the
influx of newcomers at the various gyms where I work out early in the morning. Suddenly, the extra
treadmills or elliptical machines are in motion, the weight benches are taken, and the usually idling
stationary bikes are spinning. No matter whether it is at the YMCA in the suburb where I used to live, a
fitness center in an office building where I used to work, or a small workout room in a high-rise condo
where I live now, I sense the new energy and excitement at the beginning of each year.
As time moves on, however, many new faces begin to appear less frequently, and two or three
months into the year, the workout room more or less returns to the usual clamor and morning regulars.
No more need to wait for a turn on the treadmill or the weight bench. Many gym memberships purchased
at the motivated moment get buried in the abandoned gym bag.
When it comes to physical exercise, however, I can pat myself on the shoulder for my persistence
and discipline. First of all, I am a creature of habit — I was trained to play table tennis when I was a
January is the month when we are most inclined to make new resolutions for the year — doing
exercises five times a week, adopting a healthier diet, losing weight, or living a happier and more
balanced life. No matter how long or short the New Year resolution list is, the beginning of the year
serves well as a good start.
The most popular resolution is perhaps physical exercise. Over the years, I have witnessed the
influx of newcomers at the various gyms where I work out early in the morning. Suddenly, the extra
treadmills or elliptical machines are in motion, the weight benches are taken, and the usually idling
stationary bikes are spinning. No matter whether it is at the YMCA in the suburb where I used to live, a
fitness center in an office building where I used to work, or a small workout room in a high-rise condo
where I live now, I sense the new energy and excitement at the beginning of each year.
As time moves on, however, many new faces begin to appear less frequently, and two or three
months into the year, the workout room more or less returns to the usual clamor and morning regulars.
No more need to wait for a turn on the treadmill or the weight bench. Many gym memberships purchased
at the motivated moment get buried in the abandoned gym bag.
When it comes to physical exercise, however, I can pat myself on the shoulder for my persistence
and discipline. First of all, I am a creature of habit — I was trained to play table tennis when I was a
child and practiced drills at a small town athletic center in China at 5:30 every morning for nearly five years. The experience turned me into a
morning person and formed my habit of working out early every day, which has remained with me to this day. Well, nearly every morning,
unless I have plans to play racquetball or table tennis with other people later in the day or have a flight to catch in my usual workout time.
Secondly, I love the average 45-minute workout. No matter what type of exercises I do, the physical movement gets me ready for the day. I
admit that there are times when I feel reluctant to go to the gym or follow through with my routine; but when I manage to overcome my inertia
and finish my exercise with a healthy sweat, I always feel better.
Have you ever noticed the red bars on the screen of a treadmill or elliptical machine reducing from 12 to zero in the last two minutes of
your workout time? Have you ever experienced the elation or joy when you watch the end report of your workout? Duration, calories burned,
and heartbeat? I have, many times, especially on a day when I am not particularly keen on working out. If you have not paid much attention to
the screen at the end of your workout, I strongly recommend you to do so. I guarantee it can create wonders in motivating you to get back at
it again.
Well, that is my experience with exercise. The part I would like to brag about and share. But when it comes to getting organized and tidy
things up, I have to admit I cannot make such claims. In this incidence, I find my habit working against me. I tend to spread my stuff —
correspondences, reading materials, and printouts of my manuscripts all over my desk. Sometimes, they spill under my desk. For years, I
have made promises to myself to be tidy and better organized. I start the New Year by discarding old piles or filing them away and re-
arranging my books. But before January comes to its end, I find my desk buried in disarrayed documents and scattered books again, and
consequently, spend tens of minutes each day digging through the piles to look for items. I sigh, shake my head, but find it hard to make the
change.
What can I do to make it different this year? I ask myself. I know that there are many things working in my favor this year. First of all, I
have recently changed my career. After working in the U.S. beer industry for 20 years, I finally turned full time to do what I really enjoy doing
— work with people to bridge cultural differences between the East and West. I have formed my own company, MoraQuest LLC and started
giving talks on issues related to China, women’s leadership and immigrant assimilation at various organizations, universities and schools. I
have set up my home office and developed different modules for cultural training and consulting services. And for the first time in my career,
I am now able to spend hours at a time on writing during weekdays. Of course, with this change, it is even more important to get better
organized. Besides, compared to the two-story suburban house where I used to have plenty of room, my two-bedroom condo in downtown
Chicago no longer provides me with the same luxury. Not to mention that I have begun to work on my next book in collaboration with my
daughter Lisa who also lives in the city. I often have her home for discussion and work on our writing together. I need to maintain a clean
space for her to work on and want to exert a positive influence on her working habit.
If these reasons are not enough to get me started and keep me on track in the New Year, there is yet another “grander” motivator:
January 2010 not only marks the start of another year, but also another decade. When would it be a more opportune time to work on a new,
good habit?
I am more determined than ever to carry out my New Year resolution this year. For those of you who have made and started your New
Year resolution(s), I wish you the good fortune of strong will and success.
Jian Ping is Founder and President of MoraQuest (www.moraquest.com) and author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China (www.
moraquest.com ) Share with her your success of New Year resolution at her blog: www.smearedtype.com.
morning person and formed my habit of working out early every day, which has remained with me to this day. Well, nearly every morning,
unless I have plans to play racquetball or table tennis with other people later in the day or have a flight to catch in my usual workout time.
Secondly, I love the average 45-minute workout. No matter what type of exercises I do, the physical movement gets me ready for the day. I
admit that there are times when I feel reluctant to go to the gym or follow through with my routine; but when I manage to overcome my inertia
and finish my exercise with a healthy sweat, I always feel better.
Have you ever noticed the red bars on the screen of a treadmill or elliptical machine reducing from 12 to zero in the last two minutes of
your workout time? Have you ever experienced the elation or joy when you watch the end report of your workout? Duration, calories burned,
and heartbeat? I have, many times, especially on a day when I am not particularly keen on working out. If you have not paid much attention to
the screen at the end of your workout, I strongly recommend you to do so. I guarantee it can create wonders in motivating you to get back at
it again.
Well, that is my experience with exercise. The part I would like to brag about and share. But when it comes to getting organized and tidy
things up, I have to admit I cannot make such claims. In this incidence, I find my habit working against me. I tend to spread my stuff —
correspondences, reading materials, and printouts of my manuscripts all over my desk. Sometimes, they spill under my desk. For years, I
have made promises to myself to be tidy and better organized. I start the New Year by discarding old piles or filing them away and re-
arranging my books. But before January comes to its end, I find my desk buried in disarrayed documents and scattered books again, and
consequently, spend tens of minutes each day digging through the piles to look for items. I sigh, shake my head, but find it hard to make the
change.
What can I do to make it different this year? I ask myself. I know that there are many things working in my favor this year. First of all, I
have recently changed my career. After working in the U.S. beer industry for 20 years, I finally turned full time to do what I really enjoy doing
— work with people to bridge cultural differences between the East and West. I have formed my own company, MoraQuest LLC and started
giving talks on issues related to China, women’s leadership and immigrant assimilation at various organizations, universities and schools. I
have set up my home office and developed different modules for cultural training and consulting services. And for the first time in my career,
I am now able to spend hours at a time on writing during weekdays. Of course, with this change, it is even more important to get better
organized. Besides, compared to the two-story suburban house where I used to have plenty of room, my two-bedroom condo in downtown
Chicago no longer provides me with the same luxury. Not to mention that I have begun to work on my next book in collaboration with my
daughter Lisa who also lives in the city. I often have her home for discussion and work on our writing together. I need to maintain a clean
space for her to work on and want to exert a positive influence on her working habit.
If these reasons are not enough to get me started and keep me on track in the New Year, there is yet another “grander” motivator:
January 2010 not only marks the start of another year, but also another decade. When would it be a more opportune time to work on a new,
good habit?
I am more determined than ever to carry out my New Year resolution this year. For those of you who have made and started your New
Year resolution(s), I wish you the good fortune of strong will and success.
Jian Ping is Founder and President of MoraQuest (www.moraquest.com) and author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China (www.
moraquest.com ) Share with her your success of New Year resolution at her blog: www.smearedtype.com.