Are you someone that vows to start each new month, new week, new day with the highest of hopes and aim to achieve new goals? Rarely would you want to flop out or have a total doozy period of time but let’s be honest it happens…
I am a huge believer that you get out what you put in and am very aware of the significance and impact progressive consistency and all your tokens of effort adding up. But sometimes shit, useless days just get the best of us. Well.. sometimes even these weeks happen.. Heck sometimes months!
It’s what we call being stuck in a rut, a pickle you could say. Sometimes the weight of the world seems to sit so heavily on your shoulders you just wonder how you’re going to surface to the top. You can fool yourself into thinking your mind is some second to none weapon that will take whatever life throws at you, but the truth of the matter is, sometimes shit just gets REAL heavy to carry. There’s always that positive silver lining that someone somewhere is worse off than you and I get it’s true, but you can only compare your battles to your own experiences and not that of others because while we can understand walking in someone else’s shoes the fact of the matter is that we’re not, we’ve got our own shoes on.
What happens to your health and fitness when your life is in a funk? Or better yet, what happens to YOU? That is, the value you place on yourself, your self love, your self care?
Well usually it’s put on the back burner or goes to shit. It’s usually just ‘something else’ that seems like extra creases that need to be ironed out, which during adversity can just seem like a whole lot of energy and patience you just don’t have.
I really believe in the power of changing the way you look at your health and fitness during times of challenge, obstacle or hurdles during your life. When I say health and fitness I mean what you’re eating, your daily movement, and the condition of your mindset. Anyone that has used their nutrition and fitness to fuel themselves through adversity will tell you it’s far less of a burden and far more of a medicine when it comes to remedial healing of the mind, body and soul.
Make yourself accountable to these non-negotiables to ensure you don’t drown in your own poison. If there’s anything you can do for yourself in times of adversity even if your mind or body are key concerns, just do these few things and I promise you won’t regret it.
Walk: Get outdoors, get by the ocean or in nature, pop some headphones in and walk daily. I love starting my day like this, it doesn’t need to be vigorous or on an incline having you sweat bullets just start your day briskly moving in the outdoors.
Eat well: I know this is easier said than done but have your meals prepped, balanced and of course don’t forget to include soul food - your vice, whatever that may be. Don’t let a binge turn into a binge day or a binge week and for heaven's sake avoid the bloody McDonalds drive through - it screams quarter life crisis!
Meditate: I’m working on this myself.. It’s on my list of things I want to master, but if unlike me you can nail this practice, do it and get in touch with your inner self and channel the clarity from whatever or whomever it is that gives you your guidance. Do you want to know what my mind sounds like when I meditate: *Moment of centered peace… “shit I’m calm… breath in for 7, hold for 4, out for 8, repeat”.... “fuck I’ve got to write back to so-and-so, I need to finish my emails too, Jesus I can’t believe our quarterly BAS holy fuck the ATO are a bunch of theives...c’mon Jade concentrate *moment in deep sub-consciousness*....”I would love some fish for dinner tonight, maybe I should go down to Coogee and get some fresh Barramundi...I’ll take Sass, she’ll love the walk… I wonder what time I’ll finish work… c’mon Jade come back...concentrate” #ANXIETY
Read: Even if it’s just 15 minutes a day, think of reading as like food for your brain, it also does a really good job at putting you in a state of relaxation. It doesn’t have to be a hardcore educational book, I’m not one of those gurus that will try and preach perfection that ‘you should never stop learning through reading’ because the fact of the matter is that it’s not for everyone. Reading can be boring, as good as you might think it is for your mind (and we all know it to be true) it can for some be dry as fuck, I get it.
Exercise: There’s no doubt that exercise is a blessing and a curse. Man it can be a tough mind game getting there after mentallt being in a total funk, but have you ever ever regretted a workout? Didn’t think so. Just do something you love and try and break a little sweat I promise you’ll love yourself sick.
So as we sprint into the silliest season of the year don’t aim for perfection just keep striving for progress surfacing from a rut or avoiding it like the plague. Start the new year one step ahead instead of 10 behind.
Sending love and a spoonful of health x
