Gotcha! I am not talking about food! That’s a discussion for another day. What I want to talk about today is something that can be just as damaging, however. I’m talking about commitments and obligations. It seems more and more these days I am meeting people who are “self-inducing” their commitment overload. In fact, I had more cancellations than I did appointments this week, some because of sickness, others because of over-commitments. First of all, this, to me, shows a total lack of consideration to those who they over-commit to because inevitably they are going to cancel on someone, which just wasted that other person’s time. I think I am going to start billing people when they cancel on me! I know things happen sometimes, it certainly has for me. But I try my best not to over-commit and to follow through with whatever I have committed to. But there are just some people with lifestyles that you can sense as soon as you meet them for the first time, they are just a disease waiting to happen.
Not too long ago I met a woman who seemingly was bragging about how many board of directors she sat on in addition to running two businesses and raising 3 kids all on her own, while only going on 3-4 hours of sleep a night and eating very little, because she didn’t have time for either – and she was PROUD of herself for doing this! (The “run on” of her life is just as long as this sentence just was!) You know what I say about this? FOOLISH! Absolutely foolish, playing Russian roulette with your health and your life.
I met another person who started boasting along similar lines about multiple Bible studies and exercise classes she is teaching, sitting on several boards, and raising 7 children along with keeping her husband happy. My very first reaction was I didn’t really want to be around someone like that – not because they would make me look bad but because they had great potential of being unreliable. I truly didn’t want to develop a relationship with this person because I just knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her commitments half the time – and I was right. Sure enough, the coffee meeting we had scheduled, initiated by her, was cancelled several days later. Being around people like this is stressful to ME, I can’t imagine what it is doing to them!
What does this have to do with health you might ask. This, is a reflection of poor time-management, which is the mental part of the health, and possibly even imbalances in the emotional health – lack of self-worth? Having to unnecessarily prove themselves to others? And our mental/emotional health plays just as much of a part in our physical health as food does. The two scenarios I painted above are tremendous, chronic stress to the physical body. And stress equals inflammation, and chronic inflammation equals disease plain and simple. I look at someone like that and it would not be a surprise to me if I were to hear they have diabetes, hyper-tension, some auto-immune disease or cancer. They are a “walking diseases waiting to happen.”
We all only have 24 hours in our day. Everything is about priorities – our finances, our foods we eat, our time-management – all of it. If we are on a lean budget, we need to only buy the foods that are the most nourishing to our bodies. We only have 24 hours in our day, 7-9 of those hours have to be dedicated to good, solid sleep. Another several hours a week have to be dedicated to some kind of exercise, another several hours have to be dedicated to quiet, relaxing, enjoyable down time. Another several hours a week have to be dedicated to preparing quality, nourishing meals for ourselves and our family. And of course, 20-40 hours a week needs to be dedicated to making a reasonable living for ourselves and family. What are you working for? A mortgage for a house that is bigger than you absolutely need? The latest clothes fashion? Manicures and pedicures? Fancier cars than you need, trying to use safety and reliability to justify the luxury of it? The latest cell phone? I know people who are still using flip phones and are making it through life just fine. Cable T.V., that is inundated with toxic, stressful (to the mind), pointless shows that easily adds up to $200 per month or more? Cigarettes? Alcohol? There’s another couple hundred dollars a month. It’s time to trade in the fancy car for a reliable used, economy; and down-size the house to one that provides your basic needs if you have to work 65-70 hours a week just to keep them.
If you are a single mom, trying to make ends meet financially, sitting on half a dozen boards in lieu of eating and sleeping, you need to reassess your priorities. You will not get any sympathy or praise from me that’s for sure. These and many other scenarios like them flat out open the doors wide for chronic, degenerative diseases including cancer. And even worse, it sets an example for the next generation. And we wonder why kids have all of the health issues that they have these days – our poor time-management, and in reality their poor time-management we are modeling and even encouraging them with, directly contributes to it.
I encourage you – get back to the basics. Simplify yours, and your children’s life. Quit trying to keep up with the Jones. Stop the disaster waiting to happen. Take some things off of your plate TODAY!
Pick up a copy of my book “Are You Being Deceived About True Wellness, Unveiling the Confusion, Myths and Deceptions that Prevent You from Achieving True Health” and sign up for my monthly newsletter to learn more about balancing your health wholistically.