Marathon runners repeat the legend of the forlorn mid-life man who got up one morning determined to kill himself, choosing to make his own demise look more or less accidental, by running until he collapsed. The guy had gained so much weight, smoked so relentlessly, and boozed it up so intrepidly he surmised he might go half a block or so before he succumbed to a quick and relatively painless heart attack or stroke. Dressed in sweats to hide his big belly and bad intentions, the would-be trauma case lumbered all the way to the end of the block and midway up the next block before he realized, ironically, he could not run fast enough, far enough, or hard enough to hurt himself.

Resigning himself to the grim irony, he resolved to rest and prepare for executing his plan and himself the next day. As the story goes, the hapless old man hell-bent on self-destruction kept trying to run himself to death until his daily suicide attempt became a ritual. Then, still hoping for blissful collapse, he ran marathons and road races of all kinds. Still, he could not give himself a coronary. And, of course, still hoping for quick and painless release from all life’s burdens, the now frighteningly fit old man will repeat his ritual again today. The old runner keeps on running because it hurts so good.

“If only I might have…”

Strictly speaking, “fast” means restriction and regulation, not deprivation. Your body can last a few days without food; it cannot last more than twenty four hours without water. During a period of detox fasting, you will not deprive your body of all the vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and energy it needs. You will restrict your diet to liquids that cleanse your system and build your defenses against disease. You may have all the healthy antioxidant juices you want, and you may have all the water you need. You may not have all the foods your body inevitably will crave. Withdrawal from your bad habits will hurt a great deal-both literally and figuratively. You will crave Big Macs, Snickers bars, Doritos, your favorite beer, one precious can of Classic Coca Cola, just a few bites of melt-in-your-mouth rare prime rib.

Even if you have improved upon the original detox recipe, your detox beverage still will not taste great or hit the spot like the unhealthy foods you crave. If you have sweetened your detox beverage, the sweetness will annoy you. If you have brewed your beverage cayenne-rich, the fire will linger in your mouth and stomach, reminding you of all you have sacrificed. You may have diarrhea, urinate far more than normal, and generally feel as though a fleet of Peterbilts ran over you. You probably will not have immediate feelings of health, fitness, and joy. Yet you will know, just like singing the blues or running a marathon, your detox diet just hurts so good.

“I guess it is good that I have not…”

As you continue detox fasting, the pain and cravings will subside, you will start to feel more alert and energetic, and you will begin to see and feel your weight-loss. You will begin to understand how your body had grown dependent on all those sugary, fatty, chemically-enhanced and dangerously preserved foods you craved. You will discover how much sugar they put in “special sauce” to make it special; you will discover just how many empty calories your twelve ounce Labatt’s pumped into your system; and you will learn just how cholesterol your prime rib packed into your arteries as plaque.

Gradually, you will acquire a taste for and then a preference for fresh fruits and vegetables, pinto and kidney beans, and cool, refreshing filtered water. Although you still may feel deprived of all you used to have, you will understand and appreciate the benefits of all you now have not. And, just like the persistent runner, you will continue your detox fasting ritual, because day after day, it hurts so good.

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When you make a New Year Resolution, or establish a goal, do you approach the journey as a hare or a tortoise? As you venture down the road toward your eventual destination, do you sprint, or prefer to run a marathon? Personally, I am a marathon runner when it comes to my dreams, resolutions and daily goals. Some gifted folks can sprint to the finish line with incredible, quick results. I, on the other hand, am happier going the distance one small step at a time, one day at a time, at my own tortoise pace because I finally figured out that “it really is the journey not the destination that truly is important to me”. I credit my my middle class, Midwest upbringing (and firm, wise parents) to my patience, practicality and willingness to work hard. That patience, along with persistence and passion have, over the years, enabled me to stick with my dreams long past the time when many would have given up and moved on. Call me stubborn, but that stick-to-it-ive-ness – i.e. patience -has paid big dividends on my dreams.

In the course of the past five years, as I have studied and tested what ‘works and doesn’t work’ for resolution-making-and-keeping, I have continually circled round to the notion that good, old-fashioned, common sense is enormously helpful. So much of ‘what has worked’ for me is simple and straight forward. No rocket science, or complicated formulas are needed . . . What is necessary is a dream about which you have great passion and a fierce belief that you have what it takes to succeed.

Here are 10 Common Sense Tips, that can lead to success with dreams, resolutions and daily goals:

Dare To Dream: Open your mind to the endless possibilities. Introspection and research can pay huge dividends: Discover and contemplate the ‘who, what, when, where, why, and how’ of your dream at the outset; then keep your plans simple and realistic, focus on just one life-altering dream at a time.
Decide: When you reach the ‘A-HA’ moment, that fabulous point in time when you know what you must do, make a firm decision to ‘go for it’ with everything you’ve got. No slacking, or quitting is allowed.
Define: In one concise sentence specify what you intend to achieve, how you intend to get to the finish line, and why you’re entering the race.
Develop A Plan: Dreams are huge and overwhelming. A well thought out ‘written plan’ with clear-cut, simple steps, deadlines and a timeline will enable you to proceed methodically, with confidence because you have a system – a process, a game plan that will take you from start to finish.
Do It Daily: Take one small step at a time, one day at a time, for one year. Make your passions ‘Lifetime Resolutions’ that are with you for good, not just something that you do and cross off the list!
Don’t Procrastinate: Just show up and do something every single day, especially the days when you are the least motivated. Those days are big hurdles. Each hurdle that you cross takes you closer to your destination – and that day’s work could turn out to be your best ever!
Don’t Give In To Fear: Fear and doubt are ‘dream-killers’ because they cloud your good judgment and rob you of optimism and positive thoughts. Give fear and doubt the boot by ‘getting busy’ and producing fresh results and a new-found sense of accomplishment every single day.
Don’t Get Discouraged: Progress can be painfully slow and obstacles more plentiful than victories. Carefully track tasks and milestones, in writing, so you can celebrate your wins and take credit for crossing hurdles one-by-one.
Don’t Grow Bored: Revamp and revise your plan frequently, injecting new life into each juncture of the journey. Have some fun!
Don’t Give Up: Patience, passion, persistence, and perseverance will see you through. You may have to ‘start over’ many, many times, but a key to success is being willing and committed to ‘start over’ as many times, as are necessary.

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