The most common obstacle I hear of as a fitness professional: “I don’t have enough time to workout.” Why Is This Statement So Common?
Many Over-Commit, yet continue to Under-commit Personal Fitness.
Most of us continually add things into our lives and into our schedules, while failing to subtract others. We see a space in our calendars, and we soon feel the urge to fill it, as if any bit of empty space is unproductive. This quickly leads to greater stress, frustration, overwhelm, exhaustion, and discouragement as we continually over-commit ourselves.
Did you know that one of the leading causes of insomnia is busyness? A brain that is continually preoccupied, and a to-do-list that is always longer than the day, leads to anxious, racing thoughts at the close of each day.
Did you know that over-scheduling yourself is the same as overeating? In both cases you are taking in more than you can digest. There is a compulsion to overeat, just as there is with over-scheduling. Some addictions lead us to take in an overabundance of something, while others lead us to deprive ourselves of essential things that we need. Neither scenario is good or healthy.
Time Management Strategies should include Personal Health and Fitness
There are many good books out there that describe strategies on how to manage time, but I believe the goal should be to own our time, rather than to learn how to occupy and manage it. If we find ourselves not having enough time for what we truly value and desire, it usually means that we have filled our lives with too many other things. Much of the time, they are good things! What’s wrong with good things? Good is the enemy of great. There is always a higher YES, and good boundaries are necessary so that you may set proper limits on what you will and will not allow into your life, when you will allow it, and how much.
We cannot continue to add. It is mathematically impossible! We must learn to also subtract so that we can replace. Create space for new things. Better things. Saying “NO” to bad, or even good or harmless things, so that we can then give an assured and committed “YES!” to those things that are of greater value and importance to us.
So, rather than making the victim statement, “I don’t have enough time”, remove some things that are preventing your own self-care and replace them with those that will work to support it.
Why Do We Say Yes Too Often?
As a Life Coach and Health Coach I have found that many of us like to stay busy as a means of keeping ourselves distracted (avoidance), to achieve more, or because we simply want to please others and meet their expectations. Setting boundaries involves setting limits. How much time and energy do you have to give? How much of that do you want to give? And to what do you want to give it to? An outward “YES” accompanied by an internal “NO” only leads to resentment and bitterness. This is where owning your time comes in. If I am acting as the steward of my time (as I should) I can take in suggestions and requests from others, but ultimately, I am the one who decides where my attention, time, and energy go. Not the demands, protests, or manipulations of others.
As the steward of my time, I can add or subtract as I see fit in order to either enrich or deplete the quality of my life, and the lives of others.
What are three things that you are willing to remove from your life that will not accompany loss of your health or well-being? What is one thing that you can then replace those with, that would exponentially add more to the quality of your life?