An Uncomfortable Truth

How often do you hear yourself say "I don't have time" in regards to taking care of yourself? Is that really true? What would happen if you made it a point to say instead "it's not a priority"?

It's not a priority for me to commit to daily exercise.

It's not a priority for me to cook healthy meals.

It's not a priority for me to focus on my personal growth.

Does that feel a little uncomfortable?

How about replacing "I don't have the money" with "it's not a priority"?

It's not a priority for me to invest in a gym membership.

It's not a priority for me to buy higher quality foods.

It's not a priority for me to invest in a coach who can help me get to the next level.

How does that feel? A little uncomfortable?

If it doesn't, great, you are living in congruence with your values. If you're not committed to daily exercise because it's more important to you to commit time to something else that you value, that is A-okay.

If it does feel uncomfortable, well, that's good information to have. If you are saying to yourself that it's a priority for you to cook healthy meals and you're not doing that, it's going to feel uncomfortable. Incongruency is uncomfortable.

It's kind of a harsh truth, isn't it? I mean, our days get filled with lots of responsibilities that edge out our time to do the things that matter to us. And still we all manage to get in the things that are most important to us.

Time and money seem like legitimate excuses as they are both finite resources. And yet we all have a choice in how we use those resources.

Our lifestyle will always show us where our priorities lie. Our choices will always reflect our values.

If your walk isn't matching your talk maybe it's time to do a little reflecting. Take a look at where your time and money go. Maybe there are some obvious ways that you mismanage your time and money, maybe not.

Remember, it's not an all-or-nothing game—deciding to make yourself a priority does not mean that your career or your family are not priorities. It's more about finding ways, often creative ways, that you can hold all of these things as priorities. A lot of times this requires compromise, and almost always this requires setting boundaries and limits about what you are reasonably able to take on.