Prioritizing Your Priorities

I read an article recently on priorities, which included a great quote: “your priorities shine through in everything you do”. It made me think and reflect. Oftentimes I have clients connect with me because they want to review their nutrition, they feel something needs to change in their life, or they have an event coming up and want to lose a little bit of weight. Everyone brings to the table whatever their motivation is, and reasoning for embarking on this journey. I’ll be honest, sometimes after a brief phone chat with potential clients, and a statement from them indicating they don’t have too much time in their schedule to meet with me, but really want to assess their nutrition, I ask them what they may be willing to give up in order to embark on their nutrition journey. But what do I mean by this? Well, just like brushing your teeth is a priority and a necessary thing for you to do before bed and when you wake up in the morning, so is prioritizing the fuel you are going to put into your body each day, and more importantly developing a healthy mindset of how food can act with you as opposed to against you. So, if currently you are eating out twice a day and have very little time within your weekly schedule to make a meal, or do some food preparation, you may have to sit back with all that you do accomplish in a week and ask: (a) what you might be able to make time for; (b) who can you call on for back up support; (c) how much time do I spend doing things I truly don’t enjoy; or the question I like to ask sometimes is (d) how much TV do you watch in a week, or how much time is spent browsing on social media when you may be able to make a quick lunch for work the next day (and I ask this question, because it was one of the things I tallied up one week long ago when I was trying to make time for a project I really wanted to get done but felt “I didn’t have time”).

Suffice it to say, good health doesn’t come in a pill form, bottle, or package delivered to your front door. Though I have worked with many clients in which the nature of their life is eating out once a day, and the fact that we found ways to eat out and stay healthy, good health will take some time for you to embrace. Buying groceries, making a few simple meals, and then the ever daunting experience of finding a recipe that works for your schedule, your time, your palate (along with your three picky children), and still give you some pleasurable time to relax will need to be worked into your daily routine. Seem too good to be true? It’s not. But, you have to be ready to make some time.

And then you have to ask yourself this. Even if you are excited to look into your diet and possibly make some changes and adjustments – what else do you have going on right now? Did you just start a new job? Are you planning a wedding? Are you moving? In other words, is there some other greater task that is currently taking out a chunk of your time in a day? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have a number of quick simple solutions that can get you started and just be your go-tos on silly days that are jam packed with these, but it also takes time, effort and work for you to ingrain them into your auto pilot, and the last thing I would want you to feel is hopeless that you couldn’t accomplish a certain goal. So yes, there’s that G-word……Goals are so critical for us to write down and acknowledge, but so are the other priorities we have going on in our lives so that in the end, the only thing we can be with our goals are successful.

Now, don’t get me wrong, everyone on this earth is wired differently, but from my experience in working with groups, individuals, and learning from myself, to be successful in reaching any goal, we should aim to change one or two things at a time. What I mean by this is, if going to the gym every morning or making breakfast and lunch the night before is not quite on your auto pilot just yet and you have recently sold your home and moving into a new one in a month, or planning a 6 week trip around the world, or possibly starting two new projects at work that are the make-or-break of your career, just ask yourself how you may be able to reach your health goals all at the same time. I’m not trying to defer you from going after them – never! But rather, being successful in your goals is what I aim to support my clients in. Oh, and one more thing – it takes work. Remember, health doesn’t come in a bottle or delivered to your front door – been there – tried a few 😉 So remember to question whether or not that latest fad diet on your news feed will actually work for you and your lifestyle before you indulge.

Finally, remember you’re human. So, if you do set off on a few dietary and lifestyle changes and you roll with them very well for a few weeks and then something in life turns and you falter off, don’t think you are doomed. If you could reach the goals for a few weeks, you sure as heck can reach them long term. We need to falter in life. We need to have little tests come our way when we initiate positive lifestyle changes for us to pull back and remind ourselves what is important in life, and what we do want to make time for. Times of a little more stress and feeling overwhelmed are temporary if you remind yourself of what is important to You and what You need to do to make you happy!

I recently had a little test of this myself. I am grateful for the prepped meals I had in my freezer to keep me going for a few extra days, but I can honestly say that at one point I needed to look at my things to do list and my agenda and cross a whole day off so that I could re-group, re-analyze and re-sort the rest of this hectic time to ensure I was making time for the priorities in my life. We live and learn right?! Here’s to helping you live and learn and supporting you along your way!