I’d be surprised if you haven’t found yourself in this situation: somebody cuts you off while you’re driving and speeds around you like they’re personally upset with you for being in their way.

Okay, that last bit is a projection. I’ve got my own issues – maybe you’ve done plenty of work on yourself and don’t have any feelings one way or another about when this happens, but that’s not the immediate point here…

Oftentimes you get held up at the same light. A whole lot of trouble for nothing.

Maybe you’re the cut-offer in this scenario every now and then, pinching yourself for trying so hard to get from point A to point B as fast as possible with diddly-squat to show for it. Even if you do get to your destination faster and bring that ETA down on your GPS, what’re you saving? A couple of minutes? Was it worth all the stress you were stewing in during the drive?

Do you see where I’m going with this?

How you do anything is how you do everything.

Alright, it might be a little more complicated than that, especially considering you’re always changing and navigating through different realities. Of course it’d be easier for me to just not include this whole paragraph for a better blog-flow, but over-simplified, generalized to any extent, definitive statements are too uncomfortable for me. Don’t ask what my favorite anything is.

Back to it:

Do you embody a “you do you” attitude and just give a glance and maybe send some love to the person speeding around? Maybe you’re enjoying the ride, not even caring if anyone notices the concert you’re giving to your dash. Do you get upset when you’re cut off in this scenario? Are you always or intermittently rushing around? Perhaps you’re a model example of a defensive driver and get not-overly annoyed at someone that makes you have to drive defensively in the first place. Let me know in the comments below if I’m wrong to assume if you’re approaching your health goals in much the same way.

In this simple scenario, can you think of what your ideal way of being would be (with only focusing on your actions/reactions)? That’s probably how I’d like you to approach any kind of change when it comes to health (and I can pretty much tie anything to your health).

To be clear here, I’m asking you to stop glorifying the hustle, the grind. Just do what you need to do to get from point A to point B, patiently. If you get lost along the way, reroute. To keep the metaphor alive, grinding away will wear you down just like grinding away your car. (I’m not a car person, can you tell?) I’m telling you potentially getting to your destination a little sooner is not worth the stress that you will put yourself and others through. Stop when you’re overheating, keep yourself well-fueled… I can go on.

While you’re at it, don’t worry too much about other people who seem to be passing you by. Just like you don’t know if someone swerving in and out of traffic lanes is on their way to the hospital to say goodbye to a dying friend (sorry for the intensity… it’s just how I remind myself not to judge others when I need the reminder) you don’t know the full story behind someone’s seemingly perfect life that they’re blasting on social media or wherever. And again, regardless of what their true story is, stressing and throwing around negativity is only going to come back and hurt your health and hinder the pursuit of your own goals.

Awareness is the first step towards change and progress. It can be helpful to step back and look at translatable situations and see how you behave to gauge how you’re doing in another area of your life. It’s almost as good as investing in a coach to give you an actual outside (and objective) perspective 😉

Let me know if this post was helpful to see your approach to health in a new way or if it gave you any takeaways!

Thanks again for stopping by <3

Coach Caitie