Where to draw the line between do or don't

You can workout. You can also not.

You can eat snacks. You can also not.

You can go to bed at 2am. You can also go to bed at 8.30pm.

You can watch something that’s contributing to your growth. You can also be obsessed with Kim K.

You can do all of it without a shadow of judgement. But if you’re judging yourself you have to look at that restless anxiousness. 

There’s a lot of ambivalence right now with the CONVID-19 pandemic:  

• I want to exercise but I also want to stay under the covers and never come out.

• I want to eat a vegetable but I also want to eat only cheese and crackers and drink merlot.

• I want to be productive but I’m exhausted and want no expectations. 

First of all, not that you need it (but maybe you do) this is your permission to do what you want/ need to do for yourself.

Are you wondering if what you’re doing is actually what you need? Are you helping or hindering yourself? When you have the internet yelling at you to do nothing but also clean every window sill in the house, it’s discombobulating.

Strip it back. Look at your decision making as investments or withdrawals. This idea comes from this two-part blog post by Ciaran O'Regan. Find part one here and part two here.

Investments: doing things that you may have resistance to but know it is going to benefit you in the future.

Withdrawls: Instant gratification; something that’s giving you pleasure now.

If you're making adequate investments each day into your life ( protein, daily micronutrients, movement, creating headspace, necessary jobs/ work  needed to have things running with ease) then you can engage in withdrawal activities that give you pleasure—without wondering if you should be doing something else and a hefty dose of shame.

Don’t exercise. But are you doing the minimum physical movement you need to feel YOUR definition of good?

Go down an Instagram rabbit hole, but are you also creating headspace each day to develop your own ideas and thoughts?

Move out of a place of ambivalence by having a clear understanding of what your daily investments into your mental and physical health are, then fill in the rest with the stuff you want. 

What’s one thing that’s a daily investment for you?

If working out is an investment that's important to you, especially during this pandemic, you can find out more about how you can go back to the gym feeling like you haven't wasted your time in quarantine here.