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How can we make a fitness goal, eat healthily, be happy, practice mindfulness, and be everywhere and everything to the people we love? 

It’s hard enough doing this for ourselves but what about the children? The hours spent on the children with their homework, the driving, their activities, or trying to get them to eat just one healthy meal; without complaints!  We are all busy, regardless of our circumstances, so how do we fit it all in? Here are some suggestions to live a less complicated life.

1, Make a list

Make a list and prioritise your life and figure out what you want, not a billion things, just one thing your life will revolve around. Make sure this goal is conscious and achievable and not too complicated.  Choose things such as, I want to be healthy, practice mindfulness, or just be content with what I have. Write your goal or life’s purpose, without judgments or doubts and then stick with it. Let it be your guide and whenever things get stressful or overwhelming, come back to your life’s purpose.

2, Cutaway the distractions

What kinds of things distract us?  Media, friends and family can distract us or use up valuable hours in a day.  Unplug from your devices, don’t let them consume you, but use them as a tool, not as a time.  Work with friends and family who provide synergistic energy to you, gravitate to those people, shy away from the ones who drain you.  Be efficient with your time yet make allowances for life’s moments.  Catch up for a coffee, but take it with you and maybe go for a walk with your friends. Find simple ways to be integrated with your relationships without being brought down by negativity.

3, Eat healthy food

Fill yourself up with healthy food so that you have the energy to fit it all in. Easy to say, we all know this, but how do we actually implement it?  A slow cooker is a must in our home and we will set it and forget it for the day.  Come home from a long day at work with hungry kids, and the house smells like you had a chef preparing dinner for you all day.  Every time you do have time to cook, make extra and freeze it. Meals can be simple, nutritious foods like raw veggies or fruit.  Have the kids pick the ones they want and help you prepare.  There are countless options, the only thing that limits you is your imagination.

4, Get Physical

How about being physically active, how can I fit that in?  In my life, I do yoga to help me cope with a busy life and any stresses that pop up. Yoga strengthens my body, relieves my stress, and allows me to live in the present moment.  I’m a night owl, so I do yoga, oftentimes late into the evening.  Many people, however, rise early and this could be the perfect time for you, to fit it in.  Pick some form of exercise you love, not because it will burn calories, but do it because it is something for you.   Make it yours and stick with it, even when you don’t feel like it. Any time I feel tired and I think about skipping a yoga session, I think of how great I will after.  By changing my perception about doing something that will make me feel good instead of forcing it, usually results in me finding some way to fit it in.  It doesn’t have to be the same thing each time, just doing something, own it and make it your best. To find balance and to make our lives meaningful and happy, we need to make ourselves our first priority. To fit it all in, your life needs to be balanced between what we do for others and what we allow for ourselves.  Fitness needs to help you feel great so you will be motivated to do it whenever you are able too.  Cutaway the distractions and self-doubt, nourish your soul, and your body with healthy, nutritious food.  Then maybe next time you’re at a soccer game, you will look to your neighbour, partner or random stranger, and say, “want to go for a run around the pitch while the game is on?”

 

Tim Seutter is a Firefighter, Yoga Teacher and the Manager at the Loft Yoga and Pilates Studio in Whangarei