Our lives these days are busy and chaotic. We are being pulled into a million directions by family, friends, work and social commitments. Busyness is being glorified, but how long can you really sustain late nights and early mornings? How many more meals can you eat from the drive thru? What is all of this doing to your emotional and physical health? And the real hard question is: although you please everyone, are they really getting the best of you? Are they getting the true authentic person you are? Chances are the answer is no.
While being busy and living a somewhat chaotic lifestyle is trending on the popular side right now; it is doing more damage to you than you probably know.
Emotional health:
There are times that you probably feel overextended and stressed about all the things you committed to. The pressure to fit it all in and please everyone can be overwhelming. Not fulfilling commitments or the possibility of letting someone down has major emotional impacts. Most are not seen right away but can lead to:
anxiety
depression
feeling inadequate
sad
frustrated
lonely
Being overly busy and exhausted may lead to an increase in stress and/or decreased self-esteem. This could potentially lead to more serious mental health disorders including anxiety disorder and depression. Seeking help for any of this is not shameful or a sign of weakness. Sometimes just simply having a friend to talk to or meditating can help calm your emotions and get you centered again.
Physical Health:
Busyness can lead to you sacrificing your physical well-being while getting your tasks done and accommodating other people. This looks like skipping workouts to stay at the office longer, grabbing drive thru dinner instead of meal prepping for the week or drinking more caffeine/sugary drinks in order to maintain your false sense of energy. But what is this actually doing to your body?
Increased muscle pain/tension
Insomnia
Headaches
Fatigue
Digestive issues
Changes in sex drive
These things may not seem major on their own but when put together they will compound on themselves and potentially lead to major health issues. Simply turning your phone off earlier in the night and getting to bed at a decent time could make a huge difference in your physical health. An easy trick to getting your workouts back on track is to make them a daily appointment. This workout window should be just as important as that work meeting. So STOP canceling on yourself! Look at it this way, think of your favorite celebrity, or someone who you really look up to. Would you cancel if you had a lunch date with them? Honestly, you’d probably make sure NOTHING came in the way of that lunch meeting. I want you to treat self care time the same way. You are more deserving of your time, than any celebrity!
So what is the cure for busyness and eliminating the chaos? There isn’t a cure necessarily but learning how to put yourself first and taking a mental inventory before saying yes can be a great starting place. Take a look at your schedule and start to cut things out where you can. And one of the most important things every person should learn is to set boundaries. When you learn how to say no and draw that line in the sand; you can start to pour your heart into the things that really matter and take care of the people that are most important; yourself and your family!
You deserve to take time for yourself, whether that means a vacation or mini breaks during the day. Doing so is an important reminder to yourself that you are a worthy and valuable individual.
Coach Amy Robinson
Grand Junction Personal Trainer