After a year in which many things familiar were turned upside-down, there’s one time-honored tradition that opens 2021, as it does the start of every other year: the making of New Year’s resolutions. Research shows that about half of all Americans resolve to lose weight, save more money and spend less, be a better partner and person, be more organized—or any other type of personal improvement—in the new year. However, fewer than one out of 10 of those resolvers carry through with those good intentions.

Chronic pain is a complex condition that can be frustratingly difficult to treat. It differs from the acute pain we associate with bumps, bruises, cuts, broken bones, or surgery in that it persists long after tissue healing has occurred, and it can even develop in people who have no history of injury. Opioid medications, which can be effective in treating acute pain, proved to be woefully inappropriate for managing chronic pain, as the ongoing crisis of opioid addiction and overdose clearly demonstrates.

Readers of a certain age will undoubtedly recall the Great Blizzard of 1978. (Where was Global Warming when we really needed it?) Actually, the Great Blizzard was a series of three separate storms that struck in January and February. The first storm bypassed Ohio but hit New England with nearly two feet of snow within 48 hours. We got our share during the second phase of the Blizzard.

“Why are you anxious? You have nothing to be anxious about!” If you have ever experienced anxiety, odds are you may have heard this before or may have thought it about yourself. You know you are anxious but cannot pinpoint the reason why. Since you cannot pinpoint the reason, you assume there must not be one, that your anxiety is misplaced. However, if you are anxious there is always a reason for it.

Most portfolios are constructed based on an individual’s investment objective, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Using these inputs and sophisticated portfolio-optimization calculations, most investors can feel confident that they own a well-diversified portfolio, appropriately positioned to pursue their long-term goals.¹ However, as a retiree, how you choose to live in retirement may be an additional factor to consider when building your portfolio.

For many years, our nation’s healthcare system has been trending toward a more specialized—or even subspecialized—model, with a focus on a particular organ or system of the body. But the job of a primary care physician is to look at the whole body—giving you just one of many reasons for establishing a relationship with one if you haven’t done so already.