One Small Vote
Rethinking habits, identity, and what actually sticks
As the year winds down, I’ve been thinking about healthy habits. The past nine months have been a whirlwind of travel, family visits, and celebrations — wonderful, but not exactly conducive to consistency. Beyond trying not to get sick on cruises (with mixed results), my health hasn’t been top of mind.
The quiet days between Thanksgiving and Christmas feel like the right time to take stock. Physically, I’m ending the year close to where I started — and honestly, close to where I’ve been for the past twenty years. I still carry more weight than I’d like, and as a Type 2 diabetic my A1C needs improvement. Other metrics could improve too, but they all correlate with those two. My efforts in both areas have been… sporadic. I know what to do. I simply haven’t done it with any real consistency.
Eat less (and better), move more. I believe it. I just haven’t lived it. And that’s the part that worries me. If I haven’t built these habits after decades of trying, what makes me think I can turn the ship now? During my working years, there was a never-ending list of reasons—read, excuses—for ignoring well-acknowledged healthy habits. Those excuses aren’t there anymore.
A few weeks ago, I revisited Atomic Habits by James Clear. He writes about how every action you take is a “vote” for the kind of person you want to be. Each workout is a vote for “I’m someone who works out.” Each skipped workout is… well, a different vote. Through that lens, the pattern was hard to ignore: for years I’ve essentially been voting to be an overweight, out-of-shape person. No wonder the results match the tally.
It’s not a dramatic epiphany, but it did nudge my self-talk in a more helpful direction. Clear’s other mantra — “start small” — gave me something manageable to commit to. So I set one tiny goal: five minutes of movement every morning after walking the dog. Nothing heroic, just five minutes. At least five days a week.
A couple of weeks in, I’ve kept the commitment. Most mornings the five minutes turn into fifteen or twenty, which feels like a win. But I’m not pushing it. I’m casting small votes. So far, I’ve cast twelve.
I’ll revisit this topic in the new year as I start looking at diet more closely. For now, it just feels good to head into January with a plan — before the wave of self-help noise crashes in.