10 Reasons You Aren't Taking Care of Your Health

So...you have some goals...and you know you need to take care of yourself...but you still aren't able to stay consistent with stewarding your health? Why? Why is it such a struggle?

Don't worry. You aren't alone!

I see it all the time....

People tell me, "I'm just too busy."

Or "my schedule was just so packed this week."

Or "I just feel so stressed."

Or "my kids just keep interrupting me."

Or "I'll start next week...next month...next year."

Do any of these things sound familiar? If not these things - what do you find yourself saying when you aren't doing what you want and need to do to take care of yourself and your health?

Here are the top 10 biggest obstacles that I see people struggle with:

1. You are stressed or overwhelmed so workouts or walking or really just anything to do with health just feels MORE overwhelming and is just one more thing that you have to think of - and you just CAN'T.

2. You are really busy or your schedule changes so health "stuff" gets pushed to the back burner....for when you have more time.

3. You are tired and don't have the energy to even get going. Plus, working out will probably just make you more tired.

4. You don’t know what to do or don't have a plan so when it comes to a moment when you could get in some exercise - you don't do anything. Maybe you don't have the RIGHT plan because you have an injury or problem area that you aren't attending to so you end up not planning appropriately, not following through or hurting yourself more.

5. You are not challenging yourself enough! YEP. You are giving yourself (too much) grace to just "rest" and it's not balanced with the other aspects of health like movement. Maybe you have a laid back and flexible personality (which hey, is great, and I need some more of that in me!) but maybe it carries over into your discipline making you too laid back and flexible to do the mundane and sometimes hard work to take care of yourself. Or maybe you have chosen some exercises or a plan that is just too easy for you and doesn't give you enough to see and feel the benefits of taking care of yourself.  

6. You are doing too much so it feels either too hard, impossible, painful or too exhausting to keep going.

7. You have a perfection mindset - an all or nothing mindset. If you can do all the things you know you should - then you will be successful. But when you miss one thing - you feel like a failure and just think it's not worth it to do anything else.

8. You don't see the need or understand the benefits of movement, good nourishment, or proper mental and physical rest. Taking care of your health sounds like drudgery not joyful. It might be a good fit for other people but it's definitely not for you.

9. There are too many distractions/interruptions when you try to do anything so you just quit.

10. You have insufficient goals. Your goals are aesthetic-based so it either is going to take way too long to see the difference you want or you think it's just impossible. OR you maybe even did the really hard work to get to your goal weight or ideal pant size and then....stopped....because you got there.

Do any of these ring true for you? You are not alone! I hear people tell me that they are struggling with these type of obstacles ALL the time. I even struggle with some of these sometimes!

When you think about a road block, what do you think about?

A giant obstacle in the middle of the road that disables you from getting where you're supposed to be going.

It's a barrier to stop traffic to a specific location.

But some obstacles are detours....

Maybe you need to change the plan and map out a different way....a better way.

Or maybe you can think of obstacles like these as hurdles.

A hurdle is something that you jump over to get to where you are going.

It's an obstacle that makes the race more difficult.

But athletes practice and train to get better at overcoming the hurdles.

And the goal is, that once proficient and skilled, the hurdles should barely hinder the athletes' movement.

So what if we tried to think of obstacles to taking care of ourselves as hurdles to overcome? So that eventually these things barely hinder our movement forward.

Remember....this takes an understanding of how to get over the hurdle, practicing getting over the hurdle as well as discipline to consistently get over the hurdle.

Don't let these minor obstacles stop you from the major benefits of taking care of your health.

→Listen, when an athlete runs into the hurdle instead of jumping over, they keep going. Even if they fall, they get back up and keep going. So just because the hurdle touches you or affects you - KEEP GOING! Your goal in stewarding your health isn't perfection! It's consistent stewardship! That's where you will find true health.

It's worth it!

Your loved ones will be so thankful you don't let these obstacles take you out...keep going!

Look out for my next blog post about how to help yourself overcome each of these obstacles in your health journey. We can do it together - I am ROOTING for you! 🌿