January is a time of new beginnings. New workout regimens, healthier eating habits, new habits in general.

As we plan out these new habits for ourselves, it is important to look at these resolutions through a wider lens. What, in the big picture, do you hope to accomplish with these resolutions?

Yes, that goal to go to the gym three times a week is all well and good, but the reason why you made that commitment to yourself is just as important if not more so.

Many of us make goals to live healthier in hopes of looking better and feeling better, but healthy choices can also lead to more opportunities to have fun with family and friends.

Those opportunities don’t have to be in just the remote and undefined future either. Convincing a friend to join you on your regular trips to the gym may encourage you both to stick to your commitments for longer than if you went alone.

Once the temperatures are a bit warmer, a hike or even a walk with family can serve the dual purpose of quality time together as well as helping you get that often repeated recommendation of 10,000 steps a day.

Encouraging a coworker to join you in walking to your favorite lunch spot (if you are in a spot where you can safely walk to somewhere of course) could spark conversation and even a friendship beyond the workplace.

Notice the common thread that links these activities. You will get that exercise that you have committed yourself to of course, but in each case, you will also have the opportunity to form a deeper, lasting relationship with the people in your life.

And, isn’t that the reason why we make these resolutions? We all want to look great and feel great, but we want to look great when we are out with friends. We want to feel great with our families.

Down the line, we want to be able to look and feel great when we walk alongside our grandchildren and those same friends in years to come. Next time, you don’t want to get up for your time at the gym, try to take a moment to remember why you are going.

Aren’t those future relationships worth it?