Raise your hand if you want to reach a certain weight, size, or feel-good status? Raise your other if you have reached it. Every day, men and women tell me they haven’t reached their full wellness potential. They have the desire, and some the know-how, yet they still can’t name what really gets in the way. I’ll admit it: it is often a journey, and a long one, to finally reach that answer. Yet, it is out there if you are willing to do “the work”!
These same people:
- Find it challenging to eat foods that nourish themselves to complement the level of activity you are demanding from your body.
- Feel uncomfortable having authentic conversations in your workplace or at home.
- Find themselves constantly feeling anxious about future events/possibilities, or worrying about people and activities of which they have little control.
So, what is getting in the way for you? Is it time? Is it resources? Others? Have you ever considered it may be something so simple yet not something of which you’ve discovered – yet? Maybe it is an invisible handcuff! See if these four questions can lead you to your next phase of wellness. They did for me and many of our concierge and corporate clients!
Are you:
1. spending no time fostering activities that bring passion, meaning, and belonging?
2. worrying way more than you wish?
3. always “on the move” from meetings, to calls, to emails/texts, to practices/games, to someplace or someone leaving no time to stop and breathe, pause and reflect?
4. Still convincing yourself that working harder is the answer to all pursuits?
When we make space for pause, it leaves time – and space in your brain – to consider invisible reasons we’re not reaching our goals. “Invisible handcuffs” was a term created a while back to describe one author’s theory about capitalism. I stumbled across it, and like most other references, I found it a brilliant way to describe those areas of our lives that are getting in the way of reaching our full wellness potential. I’m using the term to help uncover how you can turn around your wellness by first looking inward. When we dig deeper and scrutinize the very habitual activities, thoughts and behaviors that are preventing us from achieving our health, wellness and fitness goals, that’s when we reach the pinnacle in our journey for wellness. It’s like the greatest “ah ha” moment ever.
Imagine if you spent your days considering and working on what brings you the ultimate in satisfaction and joy? Just for giggles, imagine this set-aside time became something you called your search for your “passion” or your “vocation”. (It is never too late!) We have 16 waking hours in the day. When we spend a few minutes of those 16 hours considering on our passion, it opens doorways never imagined. When we move beyond the awareness of what they are, and take action, our worries decrease, our anxiety lessens, and we will want to maintain our health because we don’t want to be sidelined from our vocation.
Engaging in activities and behaviors that improve our feelings of well-being, like finding small joys in our days, 30 second Meditations, and not worrying about the “little things”, our brains are better able to focus on the things that truly matter. We are also more “open” to paying closer attention to the signs that may be telling us if we are on the right path or one that is detracting us from our true calling.
There are often deeper reasons outside of our diet and exercise why we are not reaching our goals. By taking time to slow down, pause, and reflect, we give ourselves the best opportunity to live a lifestyle of authenticity and purpose.
If you are interested in exploring ways I can help you or your team reach your wellness goals, contact me at contact@adriencotton.com or check out our programs here.
