A big part of the transformative journey to better health, fitness & self-confidence is creating healthy habits that support those goals.
It means carving out a handful of hours per week (yes, every week) for things like exercise, food shopping, meal prepping, meditation, reading, writing gratitudes, just to name a few.
For people who are busy, and wear many "hats" in their daily lives [spouse, parent, caretaker, coach, employee, volunteer, etc.] this can seem nearly impossible.
I can't tell you how many times I've sat with someone in a Success Session, or on a Coaching Call, and heard them say something to the effect of:
"There's just no way I can set aside all of that time for myself... I have 3 kids and they've got lots of after-school activities that I drive them to. And, I also have to cook dinner for my family, help my mother who is elderly, and volunteer at the PTA twice a month. I just don't have the time to workout 3 times a week and meditate every day."
Let me first say this: I GET IT, life is incredibly busy..
I, myself, wear many "hats."
I am a full-time mother [I'm the primary caretaker of our son at home]
I am a full-time entrepreneur and business owner.
I have 2 big, active dogs that require daily outings.
I am an athlete who is committed to training 4 hours per week.
I have parents, a sister, and other family members who we visit with each week.
I, too, have a lot on my plate.
So, like I said- I GET IT.
Life is busy.... BUT...
...the things I outlined above... the things that are necessary to transform your life into something that is happier, healthier, and more fitness-centric.... they are just as important.
I wouldn't classify 3 hours of exercise, cooking healthy meals, taking 5 minutes a day to meditate or reflect on what I'm grateful for as "luxuries" or "extras" in my life.
I define these things as self-care.
They are what I do to take care of myself & stay healthy and happy.
But this is where the common misconception comes in:
I think our society has bred us to have a very dangerous misconception about self-care.
We are taught to think that taking time for ourselves is selfish, instead of self-caring.
We are taught to think that time spent on things like exercise, meditation, mindfulness, meal prep, etc. should be sacrificed in the name of doing things for others....
And this mindset sticks.
Unfortunately, we grow up to think "I shouldn't exercise, but instead I should stay an extra hour at work to get more done."
In my opinion, it's a problem. And it's a mentality that I work everyday to undo, one person at a time.
Starting with myself.
I, too, can fall prey to this mentality- telling myself that as a business owner, I must always be working rather than doing things I love.
I constantly have to remind myself:
Self-care is not selfish. In fact, we must create the time to build the habits that will yield a happy life.
What do you do for self-care? What would you like to spend more time doing for self-care?
Start by allocating 10 minutes each day & do something just for you. Meditate, sit in the quiet, walk, breathe.
I'm certain that you'll find it to be so rewarding that you'll slowly develop the confidence to create more time for it.
It means carving out a handful of hours per week (yes, every week) for things like exercise, food shopping, meal prepping, meditation, reading, writing gratitudes, just to name a few.
For people who are busy, and wear many "hats" in their daily lives [spouse, parent, caretaker, coach, employee, volunteer, etc.] this can seem nearly impossible.
I can't tell you how many times I've sat with someone in a Success Session, or on a Coaching Call, and heard them say something to the effect of:
"There's just no way I can set aside all of that time for myself... I have 3 kids and they've got lots of after-school activities that I drive them to. And, I also have to cook dinner for my family, help my mother who is elderly, and volunteer at the PTA twice a month. I just don't have the time to workout 3 times a week and meditate every day."
Let me first say this: I GET IT, life is incredibly busy..
I, myself, wear many "hats."
I am a full-time mother [I'm the primary caretaker of our son at home]
I am a full-time entrepreneur and business owner.
I have 2 big, active dogs that require daily outings.
I am an athlete who is committed to training 4 hours per week.
I have parents, a sister, and other family members who we visit with each week.
I, too, have a lot on my plate.
So, like I said- I GET IT.
Life is busy.... BUT...
...the things I outlined above... the things that are necessary to transform your life into something that is happier, healthier, and more fitness-centric.... they are just as important.
I wouldn't classify 3 hours of exercise, cooking healthy meals, taking 5 minutes a day to meditate or reflect on what I'm grateful for as "luxuries" or "extras" in my life.
I define these things as self-care.
They are what I do to take care of myself & stay healthy and happy.
But this is where the common misconception comes in:
I think our society has bred us to have a very dangerous misconception about self-care.
We are taught to think that taking time for ourselves is selfish, instead of self-caring.
We are taught to think that time spent on things like exercise, meditation, mindfulness, meal prep, etc. should be sacrificed in the name of doing things for others....
And this mindset sticks.
Unfortunately, we grow up to think "I shouldn't exercise, but instead I should stay an extra hour at work to get more done."
In my opinion, it's a problem. And it's a mentality that I work everyday to undo, one person at a time.
Starting with myself.
I, too, can fall prey to this mentality- telling myself that as a business owner, I must always be working rather than doing things I love.
I constantly have to remind myself:
Self-care is not selfish. In fact, we must create the time to build the habits that will yield a happy life.
What do you do for self-care? What would you like to spend more time doing for self-care?
Start by allocating 10 minutes each day & do something just for you. Meditate, sit in the quiet, walk, breathe.
I'm certain that you'll find it to be so rewarding that you'll slowly develop the confidence to create more time for it.
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