When the coaches and lifestyle gurus start handing out advice on how to begin your morning, plan your meals, or exercise I automatically brace myself. I am sure it's all said with the best intentions, and a lot of it is basically sound and healthy advice - but damn it's annoying! And unrealistic..!
The 5 am club bullshit - yes, yes it's a great habit to get up early and get things done on a daily basis. But what early means is more if an individual interpretation, but for sake of argument lets assume it's around 5 am, this is what I hear them say...
So you jump up at the crack of stupid and you are supposed to first thing drink some raw pressed de-mineralized alkaline lemon/kale/selleri/whatever substance, do oil pulling while meditating, run twenty eleven laps around the block before doing a set of advanced Ashtanga yoga, and then some sexy time with your partner while taking a steam shower with essential oils, do a quick Mani Pedi, face yoga, full makeup with lashes and contouring, all while the organic hand-milled-by-singing-mennonites oatmeal is getting ready. After breakfast you journal, check your life goals sheet and add some insights from your lucid dreams to your therapeutic plan, check and reply to all emails in a friendly tone, before you do the morning breathing exercises and get your shoes on for the refreshing two hour walk to your job, and you'll always arrive five minutes before you start at 8 am, relaxed, focused, and full of great ideas.
Everyone should live like that... Right? I'm exhausted just thinking about it. But though it's exaggerated for the entertainment factor, it's a mix of actual advice on how a healthy adult should start their day, according to the lifestyle and health know-hows. Similar crazyness should go on for the lunch break, for after work but before the-after-work, before and at dinner time, and also add a complicated set of advanced life enhancing habits before your 9 pm bedtime...
Yeah, that's gonna be a NO from me dawg... I'm not buying it.
I've always questioned things and I never outgrew the "Why?!" phase (thanks ADHD!), so I've never bought into any if this. I don't usually take things for face value, and especially not when I'm being told it will cost me $19.99 per month or a fantastic (!) ONE TIME ONLY price of $129.99 for lifetime access!! It's bullshit. All of it.
It's really just a very effective business model that prey on our longing for healthy, stress free, organized lives and to feel beautiful, sexy, and attractive. If we also can slap our haters into submission - SOLD!!
The reality is, life is never going to be easy, organized, and all in your favor. And that's ok. You don't need to spend $$$ on fantasies when a good life was in your power to create all along. No, really, I mean it. It's literally in your hands right now.
First, activily choose a positive attitude every day.
Second, it's not about what happens to you but how you choose to deal with it that matters.
Take weight-loss for example. All these diets only work as long as you're on them and dedicate yourself to meticulously following them. But they suck..., life isn't very fun and you don't feel as good as you thought you would, you hit a plateau and get tired of the hassle, and then you gain back whatever you lost. Rinse and repeat? Or stop the madness?
Try this instead - get yourself informed about your body's basic functions, ask your favourite search engine about metabolism, hormones, sex and age differences, stress, and what proteins, carbohydrates, and fats really are. Then start counting calories - until you get a feel for portion sizes and food types, maybe for a couple of months - and consume LESS than you BURN. Add some exercise to it, walking is perfect, some weight lifting is great, or whatever you prefer. See the pounds drop - and you're not even sacrificing anything. Let there be cake to the people! It's allowed.
When you accept that there are no shortcuts, no magical potions, and stop listening to the fantasies those health gurus are trying to sell you (they can't afford that luxury yacht without your dedicated support you know...), then you'll be free to actually live. You'll see that everything turns out just fine with a bit of a positive attitude and a willingness to deal with life head on. And you'll start being annoyed by all the empty money grabs too, trust me.
Life is never easy but it's always worth it.
/Annalogue75
