Find your shoes

First things first, go and find your tennis shoes. Then go get your workout bag and all your workout clothes. You will need a water bottle, and don't forget your "never give up spirit," because you will need it when the alarm rings at 5 a.m., or when you need to head to the gym after a terribly long day at work.

But whatever you do, don't think for one minute that you can get away with not taking care of the lovely body you have been given. I know, maybe it doesn't look as good as it used to, but it still belongs to you, and you get to take it with you wherever you go for the rest of your life.

Let's talk about your plan for the new year. And no, I am not talking about New Year's resolutions and all that other craziness that lasts for two weeks and then goes right out the window. I mean your "Plan." "The Plan."

In our family, the "Plan" is what you are going to do to get to where you want to be in the next six months to a year. Whether it is for your health, your heart or your head, you have to have a plan. It is not easy to have a plan, and believe me, we fall down a lot with them, get lost in the middle of them, and then have to get back up and re-adjust the plan. But needless to say, we all have to have them. Otherwise, that back pain that nags us everyday will never get better, that shoulder that aches every night when we roll into bed will get worse, and that crazy tennis elbow that started up this fall while chopping wood will still be a problem when it's time to play golf again in the spring.

So it is time for you to make a game plan for your health. Make it as strict as you want, like I have to work out everyday at 5 a.m. for a half hour on the treadmill, or as loose as you want, like in the morning you lift weights three days a week, and in the evening you walk or bike four days a week. Whatever works for you, do it. But at least make a commitment to it for 30 days, and then reassess the plan. Woody Allen once said, "Half of life is just showing up." So show up at your designated time, with a friend in tow or not, and give your plan a chance. And whatever you do, don't forget your shoes, because there is no way your plan has a chance without them.

Sheree DiBiase, PT, is the owner of Lake City Physical Therapy, and she often can't find her shoes under her three sons tennis shoes, skis boots, Sorels, and flip flops. If you need help making a plan, please call our office at (208) 667-1988 and we can help. We make plans of care for people's health everyday.