- slhazelrigg
3 Lies We Tell Ourselves About Getting Healthier
Updated: Sep 19, 2022
Sharon Hazelrigg , FMCHC
Sept. 17, 2022
10 min. read
We can all be healthier in some way. Even if we're killing it in the gym and eating a balanced diet, maybe we're running off of 4 hours of sleep a night and our stress levels are through the roof. Or maybe our mental health, relationships or even our finances are out of balance.
Whatever it is, we're probably aware on some level of habits we need to change. So what stops us? The short answer is that we can't give100% in all areas of our health at the same time, so something's got to give. What motivates us to prioritize one area over another though is highly individual, and nuanced in the context of our lives, our psychology and personal health histories.
This is where the benefits of working with a health coach come into play. A coach can help you gain clarity and prioritize what you want to work on, and support you through the process of making the change, including working through any setbacks that come up.
Individual nuance aside, there are some common mindset pitfalls we can fall into.
Here are: 3 lies we tell ourselves about getting healthier:
"I'll do it when..."
The kids are back in school, the holidays are over, the new year starts, we are back from vacation...
You get the idea. "I'm waiting for the right time" to start.
The reality is, there's never a good time or a right time to start, and delaying when you start only delays your progress. The sooner you start, the sooner you can start feeling better and more fully enjoying your life.
Fun fact about me: I really dislike New Year's resolutions. Last year, I tried setting goals in September. I loved it so much, that I'm doing it again this year. I loved feeling "ahead of the game" coming into the new year with a tailwind when, let's face it, most of us are exhausted from the holidays when we ring in the new year.
I am totally loving the Freedom Mastery Law of Attraction planner. It's beautiful to look at, and includes some great tools in the front of the planner to help you map out big life goals. Then it helps you break them into annual, monthly and weekly action steps. There's a month end reflection page that helps you focus on your wins and what you learned. Engaging in this monthly look-back exercise over the past year has really helped me recognize how much I accomplish, learn and grow in a month and how many good things are happening for me. It has also taught me that it's ok to reflect and let go of goals that no longer serve me and to re-focus my time and energy on other things.
"I'm just too busy right now..."
There is a well known quote in the health and wellness space that "If you don't make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness". (Side note: this quote appears to come from multiple sources, so if you know who to attribute it to, let me know!). I love the motivating power behind this quote.
Making time for your wellness doesn't have to take 2-hours every day. It may look like that for some people, and that's amazing, but there's another popularly held notion that the biggest transformations start with baby steps. This has certainly held true for me. I'm currently in year 7 of an on-going health journey, and the lifestyle changes I've made started slowly and compounded over time. (Read more about My Journey here).
Time is always our most precious and limited commodity, but if we reframe and focus on the time we do have instead of the time we don't have, we can start making progress on our health goals. Maybe all you have is 5 min. a day right now. I want you to know that that's ok and totally workable! Commit yourself to how you want to re-purpose those 5 min. a day and see what happens!
Need some ideas to jump start your progress? Try my free 30-Day of 5 min. Self-Care Calendar.
"I was doing so well, until..."
I got sick, I went on vacation, I got off my routine and can't get motivated to get back to it, etc...
If you feel this one in your bones, you're not alone! AND you may just need this quick reframe. The transtheoretical change model teaches us that change isn't linear, meaning we should plan on sometimes making progress AND sometimes sliding backwards. The goal then isn't to avoid setbacks, but rather to plan on them happening and to try to reduce the amount of time between when the setback occurs and you pick back up with your healthy habit.
In our "on the go" culture, it's easy to think showing up for ourselves looks like engaging in a healthy habit every single day and being "all in". In reality, showing up should look like going all out, resting, showing up halfway or barely showing up on any given day based on how we feel and what we need in the context of our day to day lives.
Talk to me in the comments! Which one of these resonates most for you?