How many times have you heard this or thought this yourself?
Do you feel like your friends, families or co-workers sabotage you?
Are you afraid you'll lose your spontaneity and be licensed to a life of routine?
Do you think that you will never celebrate a birthday with a piece of cake or be able to work creatively because you're on a schedule?
Enough already. Healthy people are fun. Productive people are fun. You're just making excuses not to uplevel.
You will not lose yourself by committing to being a better you.
Your friends may not like it.
Your family may not appreciate it.
Your colleagues may roll their eyes at you.
In the end, it's your choice to make.
Common misconceptions about people who give a damn about being healthy or work hard to be productive.
1) My diet is boring.
WRONG! I probably have a more varied diet than you do. I experiment and am willing to try new things. When I am traveling to another country, I eat what they eat. For real….I have no idea what some of the things were I ate in Beijing but I did pass on the fish head with eyeballs.
Whenever there is something sweet around, people will make comments about how I would never eat that or that I wouldn't approve. Well, maybe I wouldn't eat it, but it wouldn't be because I didn't want to and was ‘being good'. It would be because I really didn't want it. I eat sweets on the weekends and holidays. Those are my food rules and they work for me. Most of the time, I find I don't even want them then.
Already today, by 1:20pm I've had – Brazil nuts, cacao powder, Vega protein powder, watermelon, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, chia seeds, hemp hearts, split-peas, coffee, kombucha tea, red pepper, corn tortilla, Applegate organic hot-dog, avocado, apple cider vinegar, Bragg's amino acids and Tamari. Seriously, would you consider that boring?
2) Going to bed early is for children.
I'm a morning person. I used to get up at ungodly hours like 5am when I had a corporate job just so I could get my workout in. I still naturally wake up between 6-7. I like that I get up early because by the time many people start on their first cup of coffee, I've gotten in a great workout, meditated, ate breakfast and possibly already completed a Pomodoro. Look at the characteristics of highly successful people and you'll see a trend toward early morning risers. There are exceptions to the rule but this is pretty common.
I avoid organized early morning meetings and chose a BNI and Toastmaster's group because they didn't meet early. Not because I'm not up and at 'em, but because that's the most important part of my day and is ‘Marcey Time' more than anything else.
I go to bed between 9-10:30 during the week. I have no shame in this and because I don't still have the mindset of a college freshman, I don't see anything wrong with it. It doesn't set me up for success to stay up just because, so when I'm tired or I need to make sure I get up early, I go to bed. Does this mean I don't go out at night? Nope! If something interests me enough I'll certainly go out, although I admit in the winter it's hard and if something begins late, like 11 or 12pm, I tend to opt out, but I don't feel guilty about it or like I'm less cool than you are.
3) My fun might be your torture.
I have a friend who made the comment that ‘adults don't play'. I play every day because I work out. I LOVE to work out. Every day I am either trail running, mountain biking, hoop dancing, throwin' a sandbag or practicing yoga. That might not seem like play to you but it certainly is to me. After I gave up swimming, almost never do I dread a workout because I do what I like. I'm actually more excited about it the harder it is.
I haven't drank alcohol since the 8th grade (true story) and to me, getting drunk, feeling bad the next day and possibly making a total ass of yourself doesn't look like fun. That is your idea of fun. Have at it! In the same way I'm not boring, I wouldn't necessarily think you're Mr. Party Pants and more fun to hang with at an event.
30-Hour National Adventure Racing Championships
3) My routine and schedule allows me to be spontaneous.
Wait a second, isn't that an oxymoron? Not at all. Because I have some structure, I don't get overloaded and behind. When someone asks me to do something last minute, I can usually do it. Because I make sure my work environment is productive, it allows me to feel creative and strategize about my clients.
What tales have you been telling yourself that being healthy and productive will result in?
