Never Enough Time? This is for you!

Time... the right time, the best time, the worst time, never enough time, wasted time, lost time.... it all comes back to time! 

In literal terms we all have the same 24 hours in a day; how we choose to spend them is where variance from person to person happens!  Our lifestyles fill those hours in a lot of different ways, families, children, careers, hobbies; everything we have in our lives takes a piece of that 24-hour pie!  Time management, and boundaries; are a great way to ensure we have enough time, for all of our commitments; as well as time to nurture ourselves!

But let’s talk about the theoretical ‘right time’ that we are all waiting for to take control of our health and wellness! 

January 1^st has come to pass this year, if you didn’t jump onto the wellness bandwagon, are you doomed to wait till next year?  Winter is over, another ‘great time’ to work on your fitness; how’s that working out for you?  The reality is, as long as you keep telling yourself that a magical block of time will present itself; where you will have nothing to focus on except getting fit & well; it will never happen!

Why, when we think about making a commitment to exercise, or to eat better; do we expect this bubble to happen in our lives, where nothing else is happening in that space?  We do things everyday; of far less importance; that intersect, overlap, or bump out things we love to do; why then do we put off taking care of ourselves? 

No matter how busy you are; or how important you feel your place is, there is one thing I can assure you – if you fall ill, or worse; that ‘busy’, those ‘commitments’; will carry on without you – no one likes to consider it, but that’s the cruel reality of life!

Trust me when I tell you

that magical time; is NOW! 

The very minute you question your commitment to your health and wellness is your NOW!  No one is going to do it for you; time to pull on your grown-up pants and get to it!  What’s the big deal anyway?  You’re already buying groceries and eating... so you make a few simple changes?  Swap a few process options for homemade? 

The changes don’t have to be big, or require a PHD to understand; make food choices that you can reduce to a whole food ... eat an apple instead of a process applesauce cup; make a hamburger at home instead of buying one at a fast food chain; drink water instead of fruit juice or soda pop... no rocket science there.

Hiding behind excuses isn’t an option; and absolutely everything you put in front of your own health; is an excuse! 

Ten years as a personal trainer, and studio owner, has brought forth some really elaborate excuses; and up until recently I have smiled and nodded.  Honestly; the studio needs clients to stay in business, and if there is one thing I have learned, calling people out on their excuses rarely ends well on a business level!  Over the past couple years I have taken a different approach; no more smile and nod, if staying in business hinges on ignoring the obvious, and not truly helping clients; then I would rather stay home.

When a person is truly committed to the ‘work’; they appreciate being called out!  They are looking for ways to get out of the mind trap they are stuck in; the stories they hear in their head, and retell in their own defense - they know its bullshit, they want you to call them on it!  Those are the clients I want in studio; like minded people who have embraced their imperfections; and are looking for a way to live with them! People who are ready to try something new, something simple and sustainable, so easy it hardly feels like it could make a difference... until they are looking at before and after pics; and realize just how far they have come on simple changes!

The changes are truly simple, it's the work that's hard. If you are one of those people, who doesn’t have time to figure out how to look after yourself – the work is really hard!  But you my friend are in the most need!  The convenience of take out versus looking for new ways to eat whole foods is time consuming; for about a week; or two at best – then suddenly you are whipping up easy healthy meals with time to spare, and feeling great! 

If commitments are your downfall, don’t commit – experiment instead!  A day or two a week that you experiment with whole foods; try new things and take the time to consider how it makes you feel... your whole life can be an experiment, something you’re trying today!  If you find something you like – keep it... if you find something you don’t like, move on to the next experiment; if you fall off the wagon, dust yourself off and get back on, there are no judgements here.  The reality is we are constantly changing in what we need, so the whole process of experimenting is probably best anyway! 

Time to stop making excuses; time to take responsibility for your health!  The best feeling was coming off an 8 week Lifestyle Transformation with clients in studio; the before and after pictures were stunning – I love to see clients comfortable in their own skin!  Perhaps the most gratifying is knowing that the physical transformation is just the tip of the iceberg; these clients had transformed themselves on a much larger scale than the photo’s show... they had embraced time, and were living in their NOW - they appreciate the way their bodies look; but they are motivated by how they feel!

A ‘now’ that makes them a priority in their lives; a ‘now’ that is improving their health; which in turn affords them more time with family, and the wellness to take on all the things they want to accomplish in their day, everyday!  

Time never stands still; it moves on regardless of whether or not you are ready...  just decide, you are ready, NOW!