2 of the Deadliest phrases when it comes to our Health

There are so many great quotes and pieces of information in Pilar Gerasimo's book, The Healthy Deviant. The above is no exception.

I think the scary part for me is that this is just ONE "classification" or statistic regarding weight. It's not counting disease/illness, hospital visits and other aspects showing how human health in North America is NOT in a good place overall. And I know, it sucks hearing it all the time. Believe me, as someone in the field I see it; it's constantly in our faces how we're NOT doing well with managing our health and lifestyle in today's modern world. I'm part of that too with reminders like the above.

But it's really hard not to remind people. We CAN'T sugar coat things and say "we'll be fine" when we're really not heading in a good direction.

As my own health practices evolve, as I continue to learn more and evolve in my career I really do feel like I'm at the point of seeing more clearly through the "mud" that is our modern "health information" out there. It's actually really refreshing to see how there ARE changes in how we approach coaching people compared to two decades ago when I began my career. However, I honestly ask myself at times;

HAVE PEOPLE JUST GIVEN UP??

Two of the most DEADLIEST phrases in the english language when it comes to our health are:

"It is what it is" and "I'm just getting old"

And I'm SO TIRED of hearing both!!!

Let's unpack these for a minute shall we....

"It is what it is"...

I'll tell you the first thing "it is" - it's overused. About EVERYTHING now a days eh? All the time we hear this. It's become the world's best EXCUSE.

You know what ACTUALLY is?? Cancer. Amputation. Diabetes. Alzheimers. Parkinson's.... THEN we could use that phrase because it REALLY IS WHAT IT IS and we have to manage it and work with things as best we can. In most cases when I hear it, it's a downright lie to ourselves and an excuse to NOT MAKE CHANGE. Which is contributing to the quote above at the beginning of this post.

It's not "what it is", it's "what you make it". When your body is retaliating by being low energy, tired, sore, uncomfortable etc... don't throw your arms in the air and do nothing! Your body is WAY WAY smarter than we EVER give it credit for (that's how we've survived so long as a species). The body is telling you that WHAT you're doing and how YOU'RE living day to day, is NOT allowing you to function at a healthy level. Therefore CHANGE is NECESSARY. Not even big change - Just change. You'd be surprised how small and simple a change can be to have a HUGE impact on our bodies!

When you think about it, it's kind of ironic isn't it? We use the phrase "It is what it is" so often that we do nothing. We change nothing. We continue on the same path we're on, repeating it over and over so that we totally believe the phrase... until it actually IS what it IS and we end up in a position of disease/illness that TRULY IS what it IS.

"I'm just getting old"...

I've gone on about this phrase (excuse!) before, and every day it's more "nails on the chalkboard" for me when people say it. 9/10 times you're not GETTING old, you're ACTING old!!!!! The feeling of being old is what you make of it.

As we get older, we (for some unknown reason)....

- stop doing things we love,

- stop having fun on a daily basis,

- stop doing things that take care of our body and mind

- build up more and more stress with no means of managing it

- constantly are on the go without slowing down

- Move less and spend more time doing sedentary things

If you can't get up and down of the floor easily - ask yourself how often you do that?

If you can't walk as far as you used to - ask yourself how often you do that?

If you can't bend over to tie up your shoes without feeling like you're going to throw your back out - ask yourself how often you bend that way throughout the day?

Once again I can't help but wonder - have we just simply given up on health??? What we do most often, is what we become good at. And what we're "GOOD AT" is using excuses to NOT create change. You're "getting older" because YOU'RE ACTING OLDER!!!!

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We all can choose to DO or NOT DO. That's the beauty of being human. BUT whatever you choose you CAN'T complain about it... because it's YOUR choice! If you want to BE healthier you have to DO things (again - just little things) that will help make you healthier. If you DO choose to DO something, ALWAYS aim for EASY, SIMPLE and DO-ABLE and build from there. You'll surprise yourself with how small of a change that you make, overflows into BIGGER changes with you barely even noticing they were happening.

But whatever you do, do yourself the favour of STOP PRACTICING those two phrases here. I CHALLENGE you to catch yourself when you DO say these phrases, and practice a different mindset. These two phrases will DO NOTHING for your health.

I promise you that.