Mastering the Art of Showing Up for Yourself to Build a Healthy Lifestyle

It's not uncommon in working with clients where despite the best intentions and sometimes efforts, they continue to be held back in their progress to healthier lifestyle habits. It's not unlucky or that they "are just not destined to be healthy". They're missing a major foundational pillar to human health and wellbeing:

YOU need to SHOW UP for yourself, CONSISTENTLY.

Not to brag, but my client roster is FULL of great humans. Many of them are AMAZING at putting EVERYONE and EVERYTHING else before themselves. Not a bad human quality to have. But it doesn't lend itself to a healthier lifestyle for the individual. THAT requires balance in the approach, which CAN BE ACHIEVED when we SHOW UP consistently for OURSELVES.

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Here are some quick, helpful ideas to start building the SKILL of SHOWING UP for YOURSELF ...

Treat YOUR personal time as the MOST important "appointment" of your day - Because it IS!

I work with (past and present) many professionals from all walks of life, who have busy schedules and appointments. The pattern that shows up with clients who struggle or are "stuck" is when ALL other appointments are MORE important than THEIR OWN TIME and health habits. If you NEED to PHYSICALLY BOOK your health habits in your calendar, DO IT! But that's just the FIRST step. NEXT you HAVE TO SHOW UP and DO IT when the time comes in your day.

YOUR health is a NON-NEGOTIABLE

It's a fact that to FEEL our best, and LIVE a QUALITY life that we all desire - Our HEALTH MUST be a non-negotiable in our daily routines. Plain and simple. If you're noticing it's being pushed aside more often than not, then it's not a matter of finding a "better exercise program" or "diet plan", it's revisiting YOUR priorities first and starting from there.

Do it NOW, not LATER

When it can be done NOW, DO IT NOW. I've shared this approach here in the past and discussing how Dan John (Strength Coach) calls them "Shark Habits"; One bite and it's gone. Just get it done NOW. THAT is SHOWING up for yourself. A 10min walk, a phone call you've been putting off, a quick tidy of your desk that's unorganized and driving you nuts for days... SHOW UP and get it done NOW, not LATER.

EASY is POSSIBLE CONSISTENTLY - HARD is possible only sometimes.

Part of building the skill of SHOWING UP is setting our ego aside and doing something that is EASY to get done.

• Want to add more movement to your day? Walk around the block EVERY DAY. That's it! No more. SHOW UP DAILY for a week or two before adding any more distance.

• Want to eat more vegetables? Add 1 vegetable to every meal - portion size doesn't matter right now, but EVERY MEAL does. OR Add 1 fist sized serving (=1 serving) of vegetables to ONE meal EVERY DAY for the next week. SHOW UP DAILY and make it happen.

• Want to better manage your stress? Set aside 5min EVERY DAY to SHOW UP for yourself and DO ONE thing that helps you relax, tune inward and manage that 'weight on your shoulders' for a short time.

When we make it EASY, that means we make it POSSIBLE (and often more enjoyable) to SHOW UP consistenly for ourselves.

When you take on ANYTHING new - SHOW UP for it BEFORE adding MORE to your calendar

Taking on something new in your days/weeks? Maybe it's a new health habit, a new class, a new project, a new group or event each week... Commit to it and commit to YOURSELF to SHOW UP for it. No matter what it is. If you committed, SHOW UP. THAT builds the practice of SHOWING UP for yourself in other ways as you create change in your health practices. The more you sign up for but "half ass" your commitment to it, the more you develop the skill of "half assing" things - including your health.

We become GOOD at WHAT WE DO MOST often. When we SHOW UP for ourselves regularly, we're GOING TO BECOME very good at doing that! When we push ourselves aside in favour of EVERYTHING and EVERYONE else, REGULARLY... we become good at DOING THAT. Which is no wonder we then struggle to find consistency in our health and lifestyle habits.

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*If you struggle with this, connect with us and let's start discussing how Health & Wellness Coaching can help you build your skill of SHOWING UP for YOURSELF.