I'm not busy, and I've never been better.

I’m not busy. Not anymore. I made a conscious choice to reduce the friction between wanting more and needing less. Part of that choice was made for me and some of it was a decision to stop fighting change. It’s taken me a while, and I’m probably just now beginning to observe a new space in my workouts, my eating, my socializing, my sleep and my peace. This isn’t necessarily a call to slow down, though. It’s simply a lesson of how to recognize what you need and how to get it.

Recognition denotes familiarity. It requires awareness and discernment. And time. To recognize our own needs means we have to be in touch with our essentials. Very often recognition comes from absence; we see gaps that we’ve neglected which slowly become glaring holes, then we recognize we need to fill up.

For me, change was not my choice. I was comfortable where I was. But now that I have slowed down, what I was really experiencing was repeated busyness. With all the constant buzz about being engaged and intentional about our attention to life, I’m not sure how I missed the dysfunction, but that’s less important. Maybe you’re the same, being busy at lots of things that seem very important, until the truly valuable is glaring us in the eyes. 

For instance, we can all agree that fruits and vegetables are health foods. Knowing this information is elementary. It seems educational, at best. When we’re aware of how our body functions either intellectually or innately, good nutrition becomes one of the essentials of life. The human body can only thrive when phytonutrients from fruits and vegetables are eaten regularly. But because the body is also capable of complex miracles, we actually can live without produce for a while. If we choose to ignore the signals from our body that we need produce, the body will work very hard to keep living on junk food. But eventually, sooner rather than later, the body will struggle. Then we recognize our lack of health as if suddenly our body betrayed us. Instead, we just didn’t read the signals we were slowly receiving. We’re living too fast to hear our bodies loud and clear.

Unfortunately, most essential things are not screaming at us…we have to choose them. Less important things often make lots of noise but that doesn’t equate to importance.

Planning meals and workouts are not side-hustles but core essentials necessary for all the energy and strength demands of a fulfilling life. We may think they are optional but only because we may not have had a health crisis, yet.

I’ve had people say to me, “It must be nice that you get to do what you like instead of work for a living.” and, “It’s easy for you because it’s your job.” and, “You don’t know what it’s like since you work for yourself.” And, I have to agree…it is nice to work at something I love. But I chose that. And, “getting a workout” while I work makes my schedule efficient, and I chose to do that, too. But, the last zinger, “you can’t relate” (to pressures on time, money, commitment, family, nutrition, etc., etc.) is simply not true.

Making a career in fitness is full of pressure and not for thin-skinned folk. You need to look perfect, eat perfect, create the best workouts, have endless energy, make everything look easy and fun, wear the latest trendy activewear, have an active social media story about your job and personal life, all while maintaining the perfect relationships. Then wake up to do it again tomorrow.

Of course, none of that is actually true. No one needs or attains that perceived perfection. And in reality, the more relatable we are, the more successful we become. I recently gave an interview to my alma mater as part of an alumni “success” story. I chuckled to myself as I retold the story of my career success, as they called it.  

A fitness career in America, you would think, would be the epitome of job security; lots of people with enough money, who also need lots of help to move and eat. Instead, we’re mostly accustomed to getting a lot for a little since it’s a pretty easy place to live. Instead of either not having a fitness career because most people take care of themselves properly, or having an abundance of work because people identify their need for help, there’s a juxtaposition…a lot of people need help but don’t/can’t/won’t recognize it.

Most of us are busy. In fact, busyness is so commonplace that it has become the recognizable trait of Americans. We live fast. So, it’s understandable that when things move slowly, we think they’re broken or dysfunctional or useless. In fitness, nothing could be further from the truth. In fitness, slow is right and safe and effective. Of course, having a reasonable conversation about how long it takes to change your fitness is redundant. We all know that it takes time. And yet, selling time in fitness is not sexy…it insinuates slogging, effortful and daily. Most of us want fitness to be instant, fast, easy, and when we feel like it, but not at 5am or 5pm or lunch time or weekends or frankly, anytime that we could be doing something else fast. 

I get it…I’m a consumer just like you. Perhaps the only difference between you and I is the side we’re on. We both know fitness takes moving and eating. We both know that we didn’t get where we are overnight…it’s taken us years of adulthood to get to our current position. We both can agree that anything valuable should get attention and time. But this is where we typically part ways…I know that fitness requires you to value your life enough to use time and money to be healthy. You may want to do that, but you’re busy doing life fast. Most all of us will keep up that pace until we can’t. And then we may not have the time we want.

For me, it took a lot of busy burnout, ruined relationships, health problems and some pretty firm confrontations with myself before I slowed down. I hope you’re not as stubborn as I was. I hope you’ll learn from my experiences, and many others you’ve probably already heard. It’s time to take care of yourself, and since I’ve made a career of helping people do that, I can help you as well.

There are lots of things we can do together to get you started, but initially, it takes some courage on your part. It will probably also take you being fed up with your current health status. And just as there are a myriad of ways to get healthy, there are also a variety of ways for us to collaborate on you. So, where should you start? Answer these fast questions first:

 1.    Do you exercise consistently most days of the week?

2.    Do you eat at least 5 servings of produce every day?

3.    Do you sleep 7+ hours every night?

4.    Are you free of any sickness related to lifestyle (type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, smoking, etc)?

5.    Does your daily routine support your health financially, socially and emotionally?

If you answered NO to any of these questions, then we’re a good match. We need to talk and work. If your answers were mostly YES, you’re still a KLivFit candidate because there is no ceiling for our healthy lifestyles. Like most things, starting seems like the biggest, hardest commitment. But if you’re still reading this, then you’re ready.

If those questions raised a lot of excuses in your mind, you’re not alone. That friction is there for a reason. It’s the little tension between what you know you need and what you’re actually doing. You’re not alone in that, as you read at the beginning, that’s where I was, too. It wasn’t until I faced the reality that I needed someone besides my own conscience to help me, that I was able to release the tension and take care of myself. So, if you’re ready, let’s get going.

 I’m easy to connect with; let’s start socially with my website: www.klivfit.com. Send me your email and the reason why you’re ready. That’s all it takes! Starting may seem hard but not starting is a guaranteed difficulty. I’ll talk to you soon.