Do you spend a good deal of your time and energy worrying about others? Maybe you worry about your children: Are they doing well in school? Are they hanging out with the right group of friends? Are they on track with their lives and making wise choices about their futures? Maybe you worry about your parents. How’s their health? How long will they be able to continue to care for themselves? Perhaps you have people in your life who are close to you and continually in crisis. You care about them. You listen to their personal struggles. You invest yourself in their lives.
Truth is, we’re only ever really in control of ourselves. No matter how much we’d like to think we are able to control others and encourage them to healthier places, ultimately their journey is their journey. Ours is ours. So, if you find yourself spending MOST, if not ALL of your time worrying about others, trying to influence their choices, investing energy into solving their problems, then you’re very likely not doing much by way of investing in yourself.
As a personal trainer and life/balance coach, I see a lot of this. Worrying about others is a common form of self-denial. It’s easier to see the mistakes other people are making than to turn the focus inward. It’s easier to put energy into worrying about others because it gives us an excuse not to DO something about ourselves. The frustration we experience when others repeat mistakes and ignore our advice is often just masking the depression we feel over our own neglect. STOP THE CYCLE!
Reset Your Mind
We reboot computers all the time when they freeze up on us. Learning to reset your mind is a similar technique. When you find your mind turning to worry, STOP and reset.
- Refocus your thoughts on YOU.
- Breathe deeply.
- Center yourself on your own life.
- Be present in your journey.
- See yourself clearly.
- Invest in your emotional and physical wellbeing.
It’s a gift you give to yourself and your loved ones.
Reorganize Your Priorities
Sit down and make a list of the things important to you. Where do you fall? Are you even on your list? Reorganize and reprioritize. Your health and your wellbeing should be a top priority.
- We all want to be happy.
- We all want to achieve success.
- The fact is, healthier people are happier people.
- Healthier people are more productive.
Change is rarely easy and yet seldom as difficult as we fear it will be.
Reclaim Your Health
Reclaiming your health doesn’t require joining a gym, making a major equipment purchase, or signing up for a popular weight loss program. Although all of these things may be helpful, they are unnecessary. Simply learning to balance and portion your nutritional intake will make a huge improvement. Try one of the many free online nutritional logs. I personally like FitDay.com.
- Track your nutritional intake and try to achieve 40% of your calories from complex carbohydrates, 30% from lean proteins, and 30% from healthy fats.
- Eat smaller meals every 3-4 hours.
- Schedule daily exercise, both aerobic and strength training.
These simple steps WILL make a difference. You CAN reclaim your health. What are you waiting for?
Trust the Process
Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of effecting a life change is the ability to trust in the process. The change I’m suggesting in this article is not some fad or quick fix. It’s a life change and that means it’s a process; one that occurs through dedication and over time. Old habits are replaced with new, healthier habits. New habits begin to feel less awkward as time passes. Time passes and a wonderful, life changing process occurs. Trust me.