By Lynn Cahoon
Remember when you watched a certain sit com and the witch main character decided to change up their appearance/look to fit someone else’s view of what they should look like? Or worse, the time Paige from Charmed decide to stand in for her best friend’s new bride?
Everyone knew it was a bad idea and was bound to fail.
Well, even witches have their off days. Starting a new routine or a new habit is kind of like changing the you that you are to a new you that you want to be. I think the important part of the ability to change is the why behind the change.
Every year I make New Years Resolutions. Since I started writing, mine look more like a 2021 business plan than just the normal I’m going to read more this year resolution. But even so, on my personal list is ALWAYS lose 20 pounds. It doesn’t matter what year or where my start weight was that year – I wasn’t happy with myself or my current weight.
The reasons varied. I had cute clothes in a size down. I want to be able to get up off the floor faster and more graceful. (A trick that has been a problem for a few years now.) I want to feel younger. I want to be healthier and avoid another round of cancer.
Even that last one didn’t spur me into action. Fear of something rarely does. I still ate what I wanted and exercised off and on. I know, intellectually, that losing weight is good for me. I just can’t focus on a good enough why. And I’m obstinate. Tell me I should do something, and I’ll fight you tooth and nail.
This year, I’m not putting lose weight on my resolution list. Instead, I’ve already changed my lifestyle.
I’ve been eating different and working out daily since November 1st. My surgeon for my lymphedema asked me to lose 20 pounds before the surgery. I’m not there, yet. Wanting the surgery was a good enough reason for me to start the process. And I’m down, as of today, almost half of that 20.
I needed a good enough why.
As you’re setting your new years resolutions this year, I have one suggestion.
Think about why you want the end result. And if that’s strong enough, I know you can do it. The magic is in the power of habit. Write one page a day. Workout every day. Choose healthy food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The little things add up.
What are you changing this year? And what’s your why?
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lynn Cahoon launches a sparkling new series featuring Mia Malone, a kitchen witch who’s starting over in her grandmother’s Idaho hometown of Magic Springs, where the use of magic is an open secret and murder is on the menu…
What’s a kitchen witch to do when her almost-fiancé leaves her suddenly single and unemployed? For Mia Malone, the answer’s simple: move to her grandmother’s quirky Idaho hometown, where magic is an open secret and witches and warlocks are (mostly) welcome. With a new gourmet dinner delivery business–and a touch of magic in her recipes–Mia’s hopes are high. Even when her ex’s little sister, Christina, arrives looking for a place to stay, Mia takes it in stride.
But her first catering job takes a distasteful turn when her client’s body is found, stabbed and stuffed under the head table. Mia’s shocked to learn that she’s a suspect–and even more so when she realizes she’s next on a killer’s list. With Christina, along with Mia’s meddling grandma, in the mix, she’ll have to find out which of the town’s eccentric residents has an appetite for murder…before this fresh start comes to a sticky end…
May New Reads