The Avoidance of EASY in our Health Habits

I currently devouring the (long overdue read) "Tiny Habits" by BJ Fogg. This morning's quote really emphasized why so many of us struggle with creating positive change. BJ says:

"Let's say you choose Uber (vs taxi) and have a great experience. They have, after all, made it so easy, you almost feel as if you're getting away with something."

And what do so many people do now? We choose Uber over taxi. Why? It's easier on so many levels.

It made me think how that's just one example of how we are NATURALLY drawn to things that make something easier...

-Uber service

-Amazon delivery

-Ordering groceries from our couch

-Robot vaccums and lawnmowers

-Online banking

-Power tools

....the list is endless

YET in health, we almost actively avoid EASY as part of our lifestyle habits. Think about that; in all facets of modern living things are getting easier to do and we embrace it, yet when someone wants to change their health habits we opt for the forced, fancy or down right "rocket-scientist" levels of change. And then we wonder to ourselves, "What's wrong with me!? Why can't I just do this??" 😳

I have a few theories about our modern stubbornness and "self-imposed roadblocks" with us NOT utilizing simplicity in building our health practices... 👇

EGO. Possibly THE key player. Yep, that voice that says "but 'so and so' is doing this program" or "my buddy lifted this much at the gym yesterday" or "This celebrity used this diet to lose 'x' pounds in just a few weeks" or the dreaded "I 'should' be doing 'x'...." mentality... It's our EGO that constantly gets in our way of making change easier for ourselves. The "shoulding ourselves", the comparison of today's modern world, the ability to post about how we're caring for ourselves with something huge... all of it, puts our EGO at the forefront which destroys the path of simplicity. Some of you may be thinking, "but Coach - I can't post about doing just 5 pushups in the morning while my coffee was brewing?" ... My response to that is; "Can't you? Because MOST people AREN'T doing that!!" 🤔

**We could also use the argument of why are we even "bragging" or sharing the fact that we're caring for ourselves?? Isn't that just an innate human priveledge in life that we either TAKE or DON'T take for ourselves!?!? Why is that "news worthy" for so many? 🤔

Mis-Information. In our interconnected, algorithm run world today we have the minorities and rare opinions/approaches in our face at all times. The one in a million, the rarities and the uncommon approaches are shoved in our faces 24/7, which leads to mis-information, confusion and frustration. All of which, puts simplicity in the rearview mirror. AND makes us believe that MOST people are doing this or thinking this way.

False beliefs. "I can't be that simple" or "there must be more to it" runs through our minds day after day, when we hear about how we can improve our health in positive ways. On another note, simple certainly doesn't mean easy. We may think "there must be more to it", yet we often can't consistently do the "too easy" thing that will help us most. We actually often don't even stick to the easy thing long enough to discover how powerful it is. Which brings up my next theory to our modern-health habit "ass backwards" approach...

Lack of Patience. Even though we humans ARE part of NATURE, we act like we're not. Yet in nature, things happen OVER TIME. Nothing is forced. Modern humans have certainly become worse at this, and we can't blame ourselves. Much of our world is instant gratification, so why can't we have health right away right? That impatience however, doesn't serve us in health as it causes us to overlook the simple, stress-free and functional ways of building healthy habits. Simple and easy not only works, it reduces stress and creates habits that stick for the long-haul.

In addition, habits aren't always formed immediately (granted, as I'm learning some are). Most habits ("good" or "bad") form over time, with repetition and ease - so much so that we barely notice until they're ingrained in our days. THAT is an argument for small, simple and easy habits... over a period of time!

Final Thought...

Going back to the initial point here from BJ Fogg, think about how you approach your habits. Whatever habit you "wish" or are trying to implement now for your health, think about THE APPROACH; Are you approaching it with force, complication and/or stress? Or is it being approached in a way that makes it EASY for you to do?

When nearly everything we do in the modern world today is making things EASIER for us, WHY NOT do the same with your health and wellbeing???

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If you need help with this mindset and have more questions on how you can create a more simplistic approach to your health, connect with 'Coach D' and let's start the conversation!