That July 2018 visit to the sports clinic has changed our lives forever. The doctor advised that I (Aaron) had to keep moving in order to be able to lead a more productive life and keep my struggle with sciatica at bay. After thinking things through about my future, sitting at the computer all day did not make me feel healthy or motivate me to replace the three cups of coffee I have a day with green tea.
Maybe you have a similar story. Perhaps your doctor somehow scared you into making sure you feel and look healthy. Maybe your wardrobe or your waist is telling you to eat differently or take more walks or start jogging so you don’t have to spend money buying new pairs of pants or skirts. Perhaps you had an epiphany that the elliptical you left in the basement is not only collecting dust. It’s metaphorically calling you to a relationship where it can help you extend your life one more day after each time you use it. But in response, you still make excuses. If you’re reading this, you are not alone. Many others are losing time as well as a fraction of their lives to unhealthy choices. I feel I may have lost quite a bit of time but I decided one day that I will take my health and nutrition into consideration. This article enlists six common excuses for postponing fitness that we once made which I hope you won’t make anymore.
1. I have no money for fitness.
It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor or on the street. There are many different ways you can try to get fit. You don’t need the equipment you see at the gym or even the most expensive dumbbells in your basement. There are many household items that are commonly found at Dollar Tree which can be used to tone your muscles, maintain a bad back, or keep your weight in check via different exercises
2. I will start soon, but I have to finish something first.
If you don’t deal with your health or your nutrition now, the suffering that comes with procrastination will sneak up, bite you in the butt, and you won’t even know it until your doctor diagnoses you with something that has no cure. Weeks and years will go by before you know it. Postponing conditions that you could have prevented when you’re younger may be the cause of a lot of your problems in the future. Saying “I’ll do it tomorrow” yesterday won’t help you take action today.
3. Who has the time?
Time is not something you find. It’s something you make. Until someone invents a time, time is a non-renewable resource. Time is also like money you need to spend it wisely. While this is true for anything from hobbies to side hustles, setting time for your physical and mental health will give you more time for everything else you’re passionate about.
4. I don’t like to plan the future for my health. It’s overwhelming.
We’ve had the same problem for years. Whenever we start with a project, we always think of the end result rather than the devil being in the details. Without a plan we revert to old habits that are hard to break, followed by eventually giving up completely. Speaking of which, we’re not sure how long this blog is going to last. We could have planned it better.
Having a plan actually isn’t that bad, but encountering the failures of not having a plan is lethal. It should only take 10 minutes to actually plan your Fitness or nutritional goals. If you’re busy every other day of the week, why not take some time out of Sunday night to make a plan? Don’t worry about the details or not knowing everything there is to know about managing your fitness and nutrition. Doesn’t worry about knowing how much gluten to cut out of your diet, or how many servings of vegetables do you need a day. Write what you know and make sure that you’re taking small steps everyday to make a change. Above all remember to incorporated into your daily schedule. Prioritising is key.
5. What about my relationships?
This can be a problem if you want to please everybody. Ask yourself these questions; who should I hang out with often? Who should I call every once in awhile? Who are my real friends? Who are the people that pretend to be my friends? What friends make me feel energised at the end of our Hangout? Which friends of mine make me feel awful at the end of the day? In which friends are most likely to nurture and support my dreams? This is a different discussion for another post. In short, when deciding who you should spend your time with, make sure you’re surrounded by those who want to see you healthy and whole physically mentally and spiritually when you retire.
6. I’m perfectly fine and healthy right now why should I focus on my health?
I’ll answer this one with the question do you live life or do you live life? Do you want to just get by working 9 to 5 Monday to Friday? Are you only satisfied with just making enough money to pay the bills? Is life outside of work just television and going to the bar or doing the cheesy “whip and nae nae” in the nightclub? We say screw that. We’re living life to the fullest. We plan to travel. We plan to create crafts and play music at huge shows. We hope to raise kids who may become athletes someday.
When it comes to being healthy and nutritious, we have decided enough is enough with accepting where we’re at. We’re tired of going through the cabinet just to get Ibuprofen or Advil. We’re tired of prescriptions of Gabapentin. We’re tired of T3s and inflammatory drugs. We want to get to a place in life we’re living the healthy and relationship good life. This doesn’t mean escaping death or having lots of money. This means coming to a place where we can have many success stories and share the life that we got from these stories with the rest of the world.
If you want to know what’s holding you back from taking the time to keep fit and healthy, look in the mirror. We had to do the same and say to ourselves, we’re not going to sit on the couch playing video games, or spend too much time creating graphics or music in front of the computer. We may not hit the gym, but we’re in the process of turning our basement into a workout room. Once you start taking action to better health, you will see the results of your hard work. Now do you understand how important it is to take action today?