The Chipolte “Back to the Start” ad makes me stop and think.  My first reaction was…that was “weebles-like” cute cartoon. And their strategy of ”food with integrity” is definitely working.  It’s catching the consumer’s concern over where their food come from and wanting fresher “fast food.”  In 2011, same store sales were up 11.2%; net income was up 20%.

Yet how do we wrestle with the fact that we can’t feed everyone on this planet using back to the farm methods?  I was acutely aware of this fact on a trip to Ethiopia last year.  ”Sustainably” cultivated food may be another privilege only for the wealthy in the world.  We do need some very efficient processes.  I hope we can find more humane and sustainable processes that can feed us all.

Resolutions.  These are tough for me.  I like all things new… the latest thinking, the latest trends, news.  I’m great at discipline but I like to start things “anew” and may not commit to somethings long enough.  But I had three ‘ah-has’ over the New Year’s weekend.

1)  Dabbling:  A friend and I discussed our fitness goals.  She gave me some straight feedback.  ”You think of yourself as an athlete.  But I see you as a dabbler.”  And she was right.  I hadn’t committed to anything with fitness. I was just dabbling, starting and stopping.

2)  The value of a goal: I heard on New Year’s Eve the answer to my question:  Why set a goal anyway?  ”Because it acts as a magnet.  It draws you to it.  You have the ability to see it over the temptation or roadblock in your way.”

3)  The will to do the work to win: My son Peter has an Ultimate Frisbee teammate who had battled cancer early in his college years.  This kid is one of the best athletes in the country and an incredibly impressive young man.  While he rarely talks about his cancer, he did tell Peter:  ”I learned from a coach early in life that it’s easy to have the will to win – everyone has that.  But do you have the will to do the work to win?

My goals are still forming but one fitness goal is set.  These new learnings are already coming into play…stop dabbling, go toward the magnet, do the work to win.