Do you feel like you know everything that you need to do, but you just can’t seem to “buckle down” and do it?  If so, you aren’t alone! Many women feel this exact same way. After working with countless women who have felt similar, I think I have narrowed it down to a few common culprits.

The three most common reasons that I see women feeling this way are:

#1 You are stuck in that “all-or-nothing” mindset

#2 You have information overload and you don’t know where to start

#3 You haven’t made the decision to prioritize yourself

After reading this list you probably know which one best describes you, but it’s likely that you are a mixture of 1-2… or even all 3!

So, what can you do about it? Let’s take a deeper dive into each of these. I truly believe that once you start to understand WHY you are feeling this way it is much easier to actively make a change.

#1 You are stuck in that “all-or-nothing” mindset

This toxic way of thinking will keep you stuck forever. If you are constantly thinking that you need to be perfect in order to see results, then you will never see results – or, if you do, they will be minimal and miserable to attain. The biggest lie that you can tell yourself is that small consistent changes won’t add up to anything. Something is always better than nothing. Making some changes today is better than waiting until tomorrow (or starting over on Monday). 

The truth is, life happens. Every day. If you don’t learn to bend and adjust to make your goals work, then you will always be waiting for “the perfect time,” and that time is never going to come. 

So, what can you do? 

I challenge you to rethink the goals that you have set for yourself. If you are someone who wants to start working out, don’t have your ultimate goal be your starting point. For example, maybe you want to be someone who works out 4-5 days a week. But if you aren’t working out at all right now, then 4-5 days is not only unrealistic, but it is also going to set you up for failure as an all-or-nothing thinker. When this weekend comes around and you haven’t achieved 4-5 workouts, you are going to get even more down on yourself and spiral deeper. Instead, start small. 1-2 workouts is better than 0 workouts. Allow yourself to work toward your goal over time.

#2 You have information overload and you don’t know where to start

Honestly, who can’t relate to this? There is so much information (and misinformation) on social media these days that it can be hard to figure out where to start. Here’s the thing…it doesn’t matter how much information you know if you aren’t doing the basics. So often I see people wanting to start at X, Y, and Z when they haven’t even established A, B, or C. What I am saying is, ignore everything and start small. You don’t need to apply all of the information that you have heard or read! 

How do you do this?

Start with the absolute basics: building a balanced plate at most meals, moving your body every day in some way, and prioritizing sleep. If this still seems like a lot, then pick ONE! For some clients, I narrow it down even more. Your starting point may be focusing on 1 meal a day or even one nutrient a day. This is okay. You are never going to build confidence or momentum in yourself if you don’t start with those basics. Something that you may find helpful is quieting down your sources of information. Unfollow accounts that overwhelm you, unsave all the tips that you have saved on Instagram that contradict each other, and stop listening to advice from people because you want to look like them.

#3 You haven’t made the decision to prioritize yourself

I feel like this might be every single person reading this. We do not prioritize ourselves – women especially. We get caught up with making sure everything else is taken care of, but we don’t put ourselves on that list. Every single thing that you need, you make sure everyone else has. You make sure kids are fed, coworkers are relieved or have things taken off their plate, partners get their stress relief time, friends have that ear to talk to, and (fill in the blank). These are your priorities. And to an extent, you aren’t wrong, but you need to be on that list too. You treat everything around you as these fragile glass balls that can’t be dropped and then you let yourself shatter.

So, what can you do?

Challenge that voice in your head that tells you that you don’t have time for yourself. Work will not come crashing down if you take a 5-10 minute walk on your lunch break instead of working through it. Your partner will survive for 30-60 minutes with the kids while you get in a workout or do a stress-relieving activity. You can take 10 minutes before you go to the store to decide what you want, instead of just thinking about what snacks the kids need. You are allowed to create boundaries for yourself instead of saying yes to every activity, sport, or event happening every weekend. You can prioritize getting to bed 30-60 minutes earlier instead of having a streak-free model home. I personally recommend starting with whichever scenario above gave you the biggest pushback. 

Some of the above advice might have seemed like a little bit of tough love, but you need it. I am not saying that your reasons aren’t valid – they are – but you don’t need to live in the belief that you have to stay stuck in the current spot that you are in. Even if you don’t believe in yourself quite yet, I do. 

Your MM Coach, 

Brianna