Are you living your life for you or for someone else? I’m not advocating becoming a recluse and avoiding any and all human contact. Some social interaction is necessary, and even healthy, contributing to a positive mental state. However, making it a common practice to be mindful of your time and specifically the amount that you’ve hopefully carved out as alone time to work on improving your health is vital to maintaining an optimal, long-term relationship with you and your body. Exercise, meditation, and/or meal-prepping and cooking are activities which you’ll need to devote a chunk of time towards if you want to prioritize your health. Signing up for every extracurricular activity, social gathering and party while not making time for yourself to accomplish the aforementioned things will start to wear on you eventually.
Are you ranking your health high on your to-do list? Does working for someone else come first every day? Or do your family members require your undivided attention? I think for many individuals this may be the case. I’m fully aware that a high profile occupation and a family create a much more complex environment for that individual versus the single person with a stress-free job. At the end of the day, however, both are given the same amount of hours in the day. Cutting out of work early or waking up even earlier than normal to squeeze in a workout may be a viable option every once in a while.
Asking for support from a spouse may free up 30 minutes to take a walk or go grocery shopping. Or the extra time could simply be spent alone to relish in that self-quietude; a much neglected activity in my opinion and one that is necessary for prime health.
Can you really be present if your mind is somewhere else? Feeling obliged to make an appearance at your coworker’s get together when you know you have ten other tasks to accomplish at home? Piling on that unnecessary stress isn’t the best option when you find yourself in this scenario. A simple honest explanation to the host will most likely be understood and will relieve the added pressure from your plate. Look at it this way — if you attend but are distracted due to the list of impending doom whirling around in your head, are you really that fun to be around anyways?
A good friend will understand. And if that host doesn’t understand your situation? Well if that’s the case, then I’d really encourage you to consider who your real friends are. A true friend, to me, is considerate of your needs, desires and efforts to take your health seriously. It’s one thing if you’re the friend that constantly blows off your friend for trivial reasons, but if every once in a while you need YOU time to nourish yourself, this is a different story altogether.
It shows you have boundaries. Saying “no” now and again will not only free up time so that you can prioritize your mental and physical health but will demonstrate that you have boundaries. Let’s face it, you can’t always push aside your agenda for another’s needs.
If you forever find yourself in a predicament of feeling obliged to say “yes” to every single invitation while letting your health take the back burner, give some of these a careful consideration and hopefully you’ll learn why saying yes is not always the healthiest answer. What are your thoughts on this? Ever find yourself compromising your health goals and if so, how do you address it? Comments are welcomed below…
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Mike is a holistic nutritionist that helps people feel more optimistic about their health and wellness through changes in diet and lifestyle shifts.
He has authored posts and articles featured on MarthaStewart.com, today.com, and iVillage.com.