I am bad at taking care of my health.
Even though I know that I only have the one body, I just can’t seem to make being healthy a priority for myself.
I know that good sleep is helpful, yet I continuously get less sleep than I know I need.
I know I should eat more vegetables and less junk, but I don’t.
I know I should exercise more, yet I struggle to get out and get moving.
I also know that all of these things are relatively easy if I start doing them. For some reason, the starting part is the hardest.
Two things brought this to the forefront this week.
First, I scheduled two evening activities in one week. I know better, but I did it anyway. They were both fun. I went to a concert at Cheyenne Frontier Days, which is about 2 hours from my house. The concert was awesome, and it was my first time up there, and I loved the venue. But, I got home really late and didn’t get to bed until after 2 am. In my younger days twenty years ago, I would have gotten up the next day and been fine, but now, I know better and took the day off work. I still didn’t get 8 hours of sleep and that night had a bowling social event with a professional group that I am involved in. It was a fun event, and I made a couple good connections, but it also ran late, and I did not get enough sleep that night either.
Second, I had some severe anxiety about going to the aforementioned concert that messed up my sleep even more. I may have mentioned that I am an introvert. So new experiences and crowds really mess me up. Both things were happening at that concert. Combine that with the fact that I was going with my boss, who I have not really hung out with socially, and I was very skittish. The night before the concert was an exercise in calming myself down and talking myself off the ledge, so I didn’t back out of going. I used all my tools that night like my Calm app, but I still didn’t get to bed until late, which made for a long day the next day. I was exhausted by the end of the day, but I had a blast, so I am happy I went. Points for overcoming a fear/anxiety and doing it anyway.
Which brings me to this weekend. It has been an exercise in catching up on sleep and trying to recover from my week. Naps have been my friend all weekend.
As I am napping and resting, I am realizing more and more how much I am willing to let my health slide over other things. Keeping up with social media, watching good shows on TV, reading a good book. All of these have been taking precedence over me cooking or working out or even taking a walk. Each one of these things makes me feel good in different ways. So it has me thinking, why am I choosing one over the other?
I don’t have an answer, just more questions. Is it because some are easier than others? Is it because I use my illness as an excuse to be lazy? Is it because I consider some more fun than others?
I have decided to work with a coach for the next few weeks to see what might help me make different choices. I did an assessment with her, and it is clear that right now, I am not valuing my health. Now we explore how I change that.
Because I do want to change.
I have to remember that I only have one body. Just like we only have one planet.
I am really good at fighting to keep our planet alive and thriving. Now I need to get good at doing that for myself too.
Do you look at yourself as only having one body and you need to keep it healthy and thriving? Or are you struggling, like me? If you are struggling, let me know, and maybe we can support each other in our journey’s.