THE BLOG
Everyday you have choices. You can get out of bed on the first alarm or press snooze for 30 minutes. You can have a protein filled breakfast of eggs, sprouted bread, and avocado, or you can have a sugar laden muffin with a syrup filled, “coffee.” You can practice mindful movement and meditation in the evening, or you can scroll social media, watch Netflix, and read garbage articles to occupy your time. You get the picture…
Look, I am not here to tell you what is right and wrong, nor will I ever tell you what you can or cannot do (we are human beings with free will, after all). What I will tell you is the truth behind why your energy is depleted day in and day out and how you can make simple yet sustainable changes to your lifestyle to get your energy back. At the end of the day, our energy dictates how we spend our time, which is the most important resource we have.
So, in this article I will start by sharing my experience with these very things and why I am writing this article. Then, I will identify 5 things that are draining your energy and contributing to exhaustion, weight gain, low confidence, poor sleep, and a myriad of other symptoms. I will also offer simple solutions that you can start doing today to overcome these barriers and get your energy back for good. Let’s go!
I help busy professionals lose weight and increase their energy so that they can be more productive in their career AND truly enjoy their time away from work. It is no secret that work culture in the 21st century has forced many of us into partaking in habits that are, legitimately, killing us. I used to be in the cycle of unhealthy living and was letting chance control my life. I was reactive, disorganized at home, sought out quick fixes, and hoped and prayed for things to change. No joke, I one time fasted from food for 17 days in hopes it would take care of my weight and eating issues.
I share this because I want you to know that no matter where you are at and what you are experiencing, there is hope. I have dedicated my life to helping others discover true health and create sustainable strategies so that they can live the lives they truly want. Remember: you are worthy of living in abundance in all aspects of your life, and that begins with radiant health and well being. Now, let’s jump into the ways we fail at health and how to address them.
5 Ways We Fail at Health and How to Fix Them.
1. We have no plan.
This one may seem like a no brainer, but it is of utmost importance so I put it first on this list. As a professional, you know all about the importance of a plan. You manage people and projects each day and know that if there is no plan or organization around this, the end result will be failure. And, if you fail at work, what happens? The organization falls apart, you don’t get promoted, and in the worst case scenario you find yourself looking elsewhere for a job.
The same is true with our health and well being. We are managing food, exercise, and relationships that can lead to improved quality of life, and yet we don’t know what we will have for lunch tomorrow, when we will practice meditation or read, nor do we know what we will do when we get to the gym this evening. The bottom line here is that we must create a plan we can stick to in order to see change.
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
2. We want quick fixes.
Okay, if there was a magic pill, powder, or juice cleanse that would automatically make us lose stubborn weight and feel 10 times more energetic each day, I would simply tell you where to get that and be on my merry way. However, you and I both know that this is science fiction at best and that the only way to live a life of inspired health is to put in the damn work. In order to do this, we need to train ourselves to crave delayed gratification.
How do we do this? First and foremost, create a vision for your life and well being in which you are able to do all of the things you enjoy in life easily and freely. Get really specific here. Who are you spending time with? What are you doing? How do your days look? What gives you energy?
Notice that with this, we are visualizing the things we are actively doing that serve us instead of trying to remove the negative things that harm us. It is important to actively decrease negative behaviors, but we do that by adopting good behaviors first.
Think of it like a garden: If all we ever do is pull weeds, we will never have beautiful flowers for our delight.
3. We are inconsistent
When I look back on my journey, one of the biggest lessons I learned is that consistency isn’t an important thing, it’s the only thing. Similar to how we become the people we interact with most, we also become what we do most of the time. This is great news for several reasons. First, this means we do not ever have to be completely restrictive with our lifestyle. If you want to go out for pizza and beer or take an entire Saturday to binge watch a new TV series, that is 100% okay and will not derail your progress.
Problems come about when we become disillusioned to what will bring us the results we want. If your goal is to lose weight, you are going to have to focus on eating healthy foods rich in fiber and protein the majority of the time. If your goal is to increase your physical stamina and endurance, you will have to focus on moving regularly to increase your cardiovascular health.
A simple rule to live by is the 80/20 rule. What we do 80% of the time will become who we are 100% of the time.
4. We do not try new things
This point is important not only for health and well being, but for life in general. We need to keep challenging ourselves with new stimuli to keep growing. Whether it is trying new foods at new restaurants, joining a different gym or fitness group, or even consuming different types of literature and information, doing things differently will keep us in a growth state day in and day out.
Here are some things you can try this week to shake things up:
- Try a new recipe (download my FREE Easy Recipes Guide)
- Do an at home workout (access my FREE Total Body Workout Anywhere resource)
- Read a biography of someone you look up to
- Take your partner out on a date
- Commit to and practice meditation or breathwork daily
You will be surprised at the magnitude of change that can come from tiny shifts.
Remember: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
5. We are not being held accountable
When it comes down to it, we need to have accountability in our lives to maintain our trajectory of growth. Think about it… At work your supervisor or boss holds you accountable, and there are ramifications if you do not perform to the level that is expected. The same goes for athletes, students, healthcare providers, and essentially every other sector of society. And, of course, we need accountability with our health and wellbeing.
There are so many different ways you can implement accountability into your life. Below are some of my favorites:
- Hire a coach: this is a no brainer. If you want ruthless accountability combined with guidance and support, send me a message.
- Habit tracking apps: There is an app called HabitShare that a former client turned me on to. It is extremely simple, allows you to create your own habits and goals, and then you keep track by checking them off. You can sync up with your friends on the app and they will be notified when you complete your commitments.
- Share with someone you trust: sometimes all we need to do is verbalize that we are going to do something for it to light a fire under our ass and get us going. You could tell your partner, best friend, or a colleague what you plan to do and have them follow up with you as a form of accountability.
- Set reminders on your phone: I personally use ClickUp and google calendar to remind me of my commitments. Beyond being organized, this will give you another layer of accountability with yourself to stay on track.
There you have it. Implementing even one of these strategies into your life today will help you gain back energy tomorrow. With that, these habits will compound upon one another until you are at your highest level of energy and performance.
If you need direct guidance, support, and accountability with implementing these strategies, I encourage you to download the free resources included in this blog and to reach out to me directly.
- Michael
michael@coachkrug.com
651-760-0688