It's that time of year again!

Back to school.

Hey, it's not just for the kids, career students and teachers, but for you too!

What do I mean exactly?


If you have goals of becoming or remaining healthFULL, here's the thing,

You must commit to a life of learning.

 

Some people, programs, magazines...they might lead you to believe that they can tell you EXACTLY what you need to do to lose those fat stores, change up your eating habits, increase your wellness.
And they may very well have something to teach you, BUT to make effective and sustainable progress, you have to be discerning.
You can take their advice, apply it, and learn what works for you and what doesn't.

Maybe you remember being in school and having friends with different study habits?

Flashcards, note-taking, audio-recording lectures.
Diligent students that wanted to see success, they had to learn the best strategies for getting themselves to their goals.
 

It's the same with wellness.
You will have to engage and you will have study yourself because what works for your peers or that gal on TV or Facebook, well it just might not work for you.



Launch your own personal research project and collect data on yourself!

Begin with questions.

"How do I feel when I eat this?"
"Do I feel better when I move like that?"
"Does this form of exercise make me feel good?"
"Is this program helping me move closer to my goals?"
"How often do I need to take rest from exercise, work, alcohol, sweets?"

Learn from your body and the ebbs and flows of your life.
Learn from others.
Learn from your environment.
 

Coaches, health professionals and resources can be your teachers.
They will give you structure and strategies to help streamline the learning process, but no one will ever be able to make choices or changes for you.
No one can learn for you what works best in your life or your body.

You are the student, the work is up to you.
The results will be yours and only yours.


How do you do it?

Just like any other student, you set goals and create a plan for making them happen. (More on this later!!)
You spend time in study.

You might even want to grab a notebook or binder to organize workouts, recipes and reflections on your process.

Take your journey seriously.
Just like students need to work for their grades, you will need to work for your desired results.
 

Feel tight on time?

You might have to take a step back from distractions like television, social activities, and social media to make time for the work and reflecting on the work.

If you are spending time and energy comparing yourself to others, stressing about what you ate, what you want to eat and what you should eat....
if you are are looking at other women on TV, in magazines, or on social media and coveting their lives and bodies, then this post is especially for you.

These activities are frustrating, depressing...defeating.
They downplay how awesome you are.

Take that energy and put it towards a more constructive practice of learning to feel comfortable and happy in your body and your life.


Frustrated that your journey seems more difficult or complicated than what you perceive others' journeys to be?

Eyes on your own paper!

You don't know what it is to be anyone but yourself.
Just because someone appears to have everything you want, that doesn't mean that you would be happy following their process or following their journey.
Their process is theirs and yours is yours.

 

I know all of this sounds like work and it isn't easy.
You can find comfort in the knowledge that from the moment we are born until we die, our minds and bodies are always learning.
There's no escaping it!

So you might as well grab the bull by the horns and guide the learning process, because for good or for bad, you always inactively learning one way.
You can teach your mind and body to do healthy things or unhealthy things.

Choose to be engaged in the process.
Choose to learn what makes you feel good.
What makes you better. What makes you feel nourished, content, and energized.

You don't have to do it 24/7 and there will be some seasons (semesters if you will) that are more difficult than others.
Take rest when you need it.
Find the balance between obsession and neglect.

You can do it!

Now go pick out a lunchbox and a trapper keeper.

xoxo,

Sarah