Do You Feel Like Your Choices Are Being Taken Away From You?

How Making Intentionally Healthy Choices Can Help Put You Back in the Driver’s Seat of Your Life During This Challenging Time

In the midst of this pandemic, trying to make safe and healthy choices can leave us feeling a bit like we have our hands tied. 

How do we plan for the future right now? 

How do we make decisions about whether to enjoy the things that give our life the most meaning—celebrations with friends, long-awaited travels, or holiday get-togethers, for example—knowing that every decision to live life “normally” might put us and our loved ones at risk?

In some ways, you might be starting to feel a little bit like your ability to make choices has been taken from you. After all—so many of the choices we make have to be viewed through the lens of the COVID crisis. And for most of us, any choice deemed too risky is immediately taken off the plate.

While it’s true that we’re living in a very different world than we did just six months ago—and while being able to make fewer choices in our everyday life can certainly be frustrating—I’ve personally found a lot of peace by focusing on the choices I CAN still make. 

Even now, when so many of us feel a bit helpless, you DO still have a great deal of power and influence in your own life.

So today, I want to challenge you to consider a few choices that are still very much yours to make. While these choices may seem small in the grand scheme of things, each one of them impacts the way we feel about ourselves, our daily life … and by extension, our place in the world at large.

Choices You Can Make Every Single to Day to Live a Happier, Fuller, Healthier Life

Choices About What You Eat

If you’re thinking that what you eat every day has little bearing on the rest of your life, think again! While many of us have been culturally trained to look at food as a source of comfort or solace during stressful times, food can ALSO be a source of power, energy, and resilience. 

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed or lethargic, try eating super clean for just a week and see what that does for you. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that will magically send all your worries packing, but you might find that improved nutrition gives you that boost of mental clarity and natural energy that you need to deal with stressful situations more effectively.

(Bonus: Wondering whether a week of intense focus on your nutrition could help put you back on track? Check out my blog, “Should You Do a Detox Week?” right here.)
 

Choices About How/How Much You Move

Have you been doing more Netflixing during this season of quarantine and social distancing? For many families, our caution about being out and about this summer has led to a much more sedentary season than normal. Like eating junk food, sitting around too much can lead to feelings of lethargy or even depression. Add this to the fact that a lack of physical activity usually also means weight gain and decreased physical health, and that’s a recipe for disaster.

You may not be quite ready to head back to your gym yet (I’m certainly not), but that doesn’t mean you can’t increase your movement! Try going for daily walks around your neighborhood, checking out local hiking trails on your weekends, or even just finding a good YouTube workout routine that you can do from the air-conditioned comfort of your living room. If you’re not quite ready to take on an intense workout regimen, just start where you are, do what you can, and focus on moving a little bit more each day in whatever way makes sense for you.
 

Choices About Recharging

The phrase “self-care” gets tossed around a lot these days, but especially during times like these, it’s SO important to take time for the little things that bring you peace and joy. If you come to a place where you feel listless, angry, or just plain overwhelmed and tired, being intentional about finding “me-time” can help you clear out negativity, recharge your batteries, and get back to feeling like YOU.

Are you struggling with making good choices right now? Do you feel like you’ve lost control of your health? 

Get in touch with me! Coaching women to success with their health goals is one of my greatest joys in life, and I’d be more than happy to help you establish some strategies for healthier, happier living during this challenging time. Click here to connect with me in my free Facebook Community, Never Diet Again.