Shifting Foundations: Health & Wellness

Building consistency in your wellness routines could be more fun than you thought

Ok fam, the Year of the Fire Horse is here and we have two more foundations to review that will help you move boldly ahead this year. This week we are going to do an audit of your health & wellbeing and next week (the last in this series) we are going to discuss spirituality (one of my all time favorite topics).

As you consider your health & well-being at this moment in your life, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this as a priority in your life?

Then take your rating and I want you to compare this with how much time you devote to your health & wellness each day and each week.

A way to quickly measure this is take yesterday or the day before and do a quick audit of how much time you actually spent on your wellness - whatever that looks like for you. For some people a wellness routine may include writing, having a bath, walking your dog or simply turning off your computer at a decent hour. Others may have intense physical workouts and others may be finding the motivation to go back to the gym.

If there is a mismatch between your priority level and how much time you are allowing for your wellness routines, this is an opportunity to recalibrate.

Now if you immediately are saying but I don’t have enough time, I want to stop you right there and ask: how much time did you spend on social media yesterday? What time did you wake up in the morning? What was the first thing that you did after you gained consciousness? Did you immediately reach for your phone or lay in bed or hit snooze 3 more times? How do you spend your free time and days off? What about Friday night?

I’m not saying that in all of these moments, you should be incorporating some sort of exercise of mindfulness but I am pointing out that often, saying we don’t have enough time is a lie. The crux of the matter is: how you choose to spend your time and what you choose to do in these moments ARE your priority. Read previous post on how you choose to spend your time

Now if you don’t like the idea of social media being a priority, then good news, you have the ability to change this.

If there is a big discrepancy between the priority level of your health & wellness and the time you spend on this, again you have the ability to change this. This doesn’t need to be a drastic change. In fact, it’s usually the extreme regiments and health fads that don’t last or work. It’s important to recognize that truly sustainable health & wellness routines that deliver the results that you want (be lean, more fit, less stressed, good work life balance etc.) do not happen overnight. These are long term gains that come from consistency, not instant gratification.

If you are ready to make a change, start by looking for windows in your day and schedule where you can incorporate new routines.

Experiment, have fun, try new things.

Some quick ideas for you: on your lunch break instead of scrolling on your phone, try reading a book. If you feel burnt out at the end of the day, take a walk around the block. See if you can wake up 15 minutes earlier and meditate for 10 minutes. Sign up for a fitness class you have never done before like pole or kickboxing or zumba. Challenge yourself to write 3 pages a day, journaling, poetry, stream of consciousness or a novel. Instead of going out on a Friday night, have friends over for an art party. Join me in doing 43 burpees a day (takes less than 3 minutes and kicks your butt).

Slowly build accountability with yourself by doing what is fun or feels good, focus on consistently and give yourself grace for days where you don’t work out or eat as healthy as you want to, as these are what build longevity.

If you need an accountability buddy, I’ve got you.

Simply hit reply and tell me what will you be so freaking proud of yourself about in 6 months from now?!

xo, Naomi