Why is my Trainer Obsessed with Time?
/Full disclosure, I’m going to be 40 this year.
I’ll be honest, my brain is having a hard time wrapping around that fact. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is that I’m having a hard time grasping.
That I’ll be 40 with a 7 month old?
That when I was growing up everyone made 40 seem so old, yet I don’t feel old?
That I always thought I’d have a better grasp on all things “life,” by the time I was 40? (I blame those of you who have gone before me and made me believe this…)
Or maybe it’s the fact that it seems like a much bigger deal to everyone but me. Probably, because it doesn’t seem real.
Whatever it is, there’s no escaping it. I’ll be 40 this fall.
So why do I bring this up?
Over the last several weeks I’ve been talking about time. A lot. And maybe you’ve wondered to yourself at some point, “Why is a personal trainer and health coach talking so much about time? Shouldn’t she be focusing more on fitness? Or nutrition? Or biohacks of some sort?”
And if you’ve wondered that, I don’t blame you. 15 years ago I would have wondered the same thing. But, I suppose one of the advantages of getting older is that you’ve had the time to learn so much more. And one of the things I’ve learned is that one of the most important things that impacts our health is our time.
That’s right, our time. And what we do with it.
In the same amount of time we could drive to a fast food joint and pick up a combo meal, or we could drive to a grocery store and pick up a rotisserie chicken and steamable veggies.
In the same amount of time we could watch 2 TV shows every day, or get an extra hour (or two) of sleep.
In the same amount of time we could plop on the couch to call our best friend, family member, or whomever… or we could plug in our headphones and walk around outside (or even inside for that matter!) while we chat.
With the same amount of time, we could get up and go to bed 30 minutes earlier to be able to avoid an extra 25 minutes of traffic on our way to work… both ways. Or heck! Maybe we have a job where we can negotiate working from home just one day a week and save ourselves the commute time entirely!
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying the occasional combo meal, television show, or crash on the couch is a bad thing. It’s not. What I am trying to do is point out that how we use our time can significantly impact our health.
Which is why I’m obsessed with time.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Time is the most common reasons I hear that people don’t do the things they need to do to take better care of their health. And I get it. I can easily get overwhelmed and sucked into the “there’s not enough time” trap. But it’s time for some tough love.
You choose what you do with your time.
Yup, I said it. And it might burn a little bit. Heck, seeing it in black and white burns me a bit even though I stand by what I said. Because we do choose.
True, there are some things we need to choose. Unless you come from a family of infinite wealth or have won the lottery, you probably need some sort of income. And even if you have all the resources imaginable right at your fingertips, you probably need to manage those resources in some way. So that being said, some of your time will absolutely be tied up in the activities of “living” if you will.
But how much time? That may be more flexible. I do want to add that there are some points in our life when circumstances will dictate that more of time is dedicated to what I called the activities of living. I fully understand that. But for most of us, those periods in time are just that. Sometimes longer periods of time, but periods of time nonetheless.
I’m sure I’ve said it before, but one of the biggest impacts on how I thought about time was when I heard someone say, “Your calendar shows your priorities.”
Gus and Jaq from Cinderella- disneyclips.com
I don’t know about you- but when I actually sit down and name my priorities, my family is way more important than a random stranger on Instagram. My friends are more important than watching just one more episode. And my health is more important than having a Disney Princess sparkling clean house (Besides, those princesses have birds and mice and things to do the work for them…).
Okay, and maybe turning 40 has something to do with it to. When I realize by the time MY kids are both 40 I’ll be… 77 or 80. And I want to still be not only alive, but alive, healthy, and able to do things with them and any potential children they have.
So I’ll prioritize my time. And I’ll prioritize doing the things to keep myself (and my family) healthy. Even if that means I’m not up on pop culture. Even if that means my house isn’t quite as tidy as I like. Because when I’m the healthiest version of myself, I can show up as the best version of myself.
