Well, here we are again—the beginning of another year. Fresh optimism abounds and you can almost convince yourself that this will be the year you finally get serious about getting in shape.

So what do you need from me? Would you like me to suggest a bunch of possible fitness and nutrition goals? Maybe you'd like to see some unusual, clever tricks on how to cram a few simple movements into your already jam-packed day so that you can multi-task just that much more productively?

Sorry – that's not what I'm going to do. And why not, you ask?

Here's why. Before you make any significant, let alone radical change to your lifestyle, you need something that none of the items I've already mentioned will give you —a clear and compelling reason to do it.

So let's start there and work our way forward from that critical point.

Are you ready for a revolutionary statement of epic proportions? OK. Here's why you should take better care of yourself—to have a better life.

New Year's resolutions generally fail because they don't hold the same level of importance that other mundane but fundamental daily tasks we do. Parents pick up their kids from school and they make it to their jobs every day

.We just don't care as much about the long term goals like physical fitness as we do about making sure our kids are safe and we have a roof over our head. That makes sense to me.

But then I have to ask whether the other things in our lives that collectively occupy the time we might have for exercise (e-mail, watching TV, surfing the internet, working in the yard, fixing up the house) are truly so connected to living fully and with purpose.

Are these preoccupations really worth the common slide to progressively limited capacity and energy? Would we really rather get old and broken down much earlier than necessary?

If the answer for you is no, but you're not living as though you want to be as robust and energetic and healthy as you can be, you find yourself at an exciting crossroads. So let me help you by providing a broadview map of the terrain before you.

The most important level of any new, epic adventure you voluntarily pursue is the purpose. You need a single encompassing and overarching purpose for living a healthful lifestyle.

Then there are the principles.

Healthful eating and exercise have no substitutes, no shortcuts and no rivals in improving the quality of your physical experience. Fortunately for you, they also have no limits in the variations and creativity you can employ to get them to fit your unique daily rhythms and personal preferences.

Watch this column in the coming weeks for many useful ideas for the busiest and most chaotic of schedules.

The next level is to practice every day. You eat every day and either work out or purposefully rest every day. So what if you mess up today? There's always tomorrow. But just like a class you're taking, you want to do your best to keep up so that there's meaningful progress over a reasonable period.

Just like taking care of your kids, it has to be something you are consistent about over the long haul. No cheating yourself. Planning meals and snacks can be much easier than you may think if you establish a core list of foods, restaurants, meal combinations and modular healthy snacks you eat frequently. Again, this column will provide a storehouse of ideas in the weeks ahead.

And finally, looking at the pyramid above, you can see that while the physical benefits to a healthful lifestyle are profound, that's only part of the picture.

Bettering yourself in measurable, important ways always leads to improved self image and you carry that into your interactions with others, often inspiring the same in them. Integrity means not only being true to yourself and your most deeply held values, but also literally integrating your actions with your concept of your best self.

Is there a more worthy goal?

Which brings us full circle to your central purpose – a better life. That's why you're about to change your weekly and daily choices. Not because it's the beginning of January or to impress anyone else.

You want a better life. Don't you?