Today I’m talking about time.
Specifically I’m talking about taking time to eat well. It’s freaking tough to do that am I right?
How is it possible to eat well every day if we’re getting home from work at 6 (at the earliest), and then rushing off to bring our kids to XYZ class?
How is it possible to eat well every day when we work shift work, and have a crap load of laundry to do? The kitchen is a mess and our kids are screaming at us that they’re hungry. Not to mention they’re tired from a long day at school.
Sometimes it just sucks.
With both parents working outside of the home, eating well on a regular basis is so tough and many times ends up sliding down the priority list (tougher yet if you’re a single parent!).
But does anyone actually have a physical priority list? We keep talking about it, but have you written one out? (No that would take more time!)
As we come into a new year, I want to challenge you to write out your priorities on a piece of paper. Yes with a pen. No, not with the computer because if you do it on the computer you might feel the pull to check Facebook or Instagram or start researching for that backyard trampoline you’ve always wanted (just me?).
Get out a piece of paper and write down what is truly important to you. Don’t think about the things you have to do. Think about things that are important to you.
My husband had to do something like this for a goal-setting project he worked on recently.
What are your goals in life? What is truly important for you to live a good life (I highly recommend this podcast by the way)? What do you want out of this place? What will you think about when you’re ‘retired’ and ready to do something new?
I can tell you my number one priority is to be healthy. For some reason people think that’s weird. I get made fun of for it. I’m called ‘The Healthy One’.
‘Stephanie is there kale in those cookies?’
When I turned 40 I was automatically considered ‘middle aged’ (GAH!). It made me think about what I want the second half of my life to be like.
Ya so I want to be healthy. Don’t you?
I want to be able to walk 6-7 kms a day with no effort.
I want to workout until I’m well past 50.
I want to be able to walk up the stairs without using a railing.
I want to be able to spend the second half of my life well, not sick.
These are tall orders as my age creeps up I know and there are no guarantees for anything. Of course we’ll all get old and eventually die, but what can we do to age well, not sick?
I believe it starts with making eating well a number 1 priority. (I’ve even made it easy for you here!)
Just by eating well, you’ll have more energy. Once you have more energy you can work out more. Walk more. Do more yoga. Sleep better. Think better.
So as we’re going through this craziness called life (which is just so crazy with young kids), let’s take five minutes to write down our priorities.
Then we can look at them in the eye and begin to make changes and decisions that will help us actually make them a reality.
Because if you tell people that your health is your priority, but you’re still eating take-out and donuts three times a week and eating processed junk from the middle aisles of the grocery store then something isn’t adding up.
Write it down. Make a promise. Make changes.
We all have time to follow through with our priorities. We all have the same 24 hours in a day (I loved this Ted Talk on the subject).
It’s a matter of making tough decisions, letting go and saying no more often that will help us get there.
Getting off our phones and computers is a good start too.
Let’s do this.
