Why don't we take better care of ourselves?

 

Why don't we take better care of ourselves?

Serious. We cut our hair every 6 weeks, change the filters in our water system every red light, change our oil every 3000 miles, pressure wash our decks, and spin our tires. We take care of our stuff more than we take care of ourselves

Why is it so hard to get up from the couch for a walk?

 Or go to the gym? Or call a doctor?

What's stopping us from taking better care of ourselves?

In fact, in many ways, it's not our fault.

One reason is that our brains are wired that way. Our brains are forward thinking, always focused on efficiency. Whatever behavioral patterns we create for ourselves—such as being stuck behind a desk for 8 hours a day—we automatically become dependent on those patterns. The more we practice (40-50+ hours per week x how many years?), the deeper the patterns become, making them harder to change.

The other part is a simple law of physics: An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external force. Our brains simply don't use energy unless necessary. External forces can come in many varieties: a bad dog chasing us down the street, an impending wedding, a family reunion or vacation, or bad news from a doctor. Whether unconsciously or eventually consciously, whatever is deemed necessary for survival will be the action we take.

But I think there's more to it.

People tell stories all the time, most of them for ourselves. But are they real? When it comes to improving our health and fitness, that's often not the case. They are frightening and, like the danger they imply, present as a problem. We know the answer, but we still ask: If I'm in better shape, will I lose all my friends who aren't good? Am I worthy of success? What will people think of me? What if I improve my health but my partner doesn't? What happened to our relationship? if i change my appearance.

But scary things aside, getting this kind of help is a unique process. First, fitness is a service, but the work isn't done for you or by you. You have to do it yourself. You also need to have a clear idea of ​​what you need and how to get it, or maybe just know that improvements can be made. Our health deteriorates very slowly and silently. Most of our chronic diseases (heart disease, type 2, high blood pressure) take 12 to 15 years of bad decisions to show up in a doctor's office. This doesn't really provide the "outside" strength to keep you going until it's too late.

If you've tried to get fit and healthy in the past and then relapsed, even if the failure wasn't your fault (and it usually isn't- it is actually quite normal, it takes an average of 7 attempts to succeed.