Boo! A Wellness Haunted House
In the spirit of Halloween, I am sharing some of the scariest scenarios that people can imagine when it comes to their health and wellness. And why you should consider embracing that particular haunted house.
At the bottom you will find two of my personal haunted houses and why you have a right to be very afraid of those things ;)
A haunted house but it is just an empty room with no distractions, forcing you to be alone with your thoughts.
AH! The scariest haunted house imaginable. Or at least that is what it can feel like for people who are not comfortable with being alone. If that is you, you are definitely not alone, but I encourage you to give it a try. Especially if it has been awhile since you have even tried. I promise you will not die. It may be uncomfortable or it may be boring or maybe you will discover that you kind of like it. Just go for it. So often the thing that we are avoiding is exactly the thing that we need most.
A haunted house but it is just a scale that goes up a couple pounds because you started strength training with a consistent program and have gotten stronger.
This one is especially aimed at all the females out there. During the pandemic, I was at my lowest weight since I was in high school. I am about 6-8 pounds heavier than that now and I would argue that I look better now because of the simple fact that I started taking my strength training seriously. As you have heard me say over and over, strength training - with heavy weights! - is one of the best things you can do for your long-term health. But you have to accept that your weight may go up a few pounds. If you can’t handle seeing that, then ditch the scale for a little while. Just focus on how you look, how your clothes fit, and most importantly, how you feel.
A haunted house but it is just a phone that can only make phone calls.
I know this might be a controversial one, but try giving your friends and family a phone call instead of always texting. Personally, I love a good phone call and like to think I have converted a few of my anti-call friends into seeing the fun of a random phone chat (or maybe they just indulge me). Quickly connecting via phone every once in a while is a nice way to catch up and just hearing the voice of someone we care about can bring an instant boost of happiness. Try it out and you may just get over your fear of phone calls.
A haunted house but it is just me telling you that there are no quick and easy fixes for reaching your mental and physical health and wellness goals.
Small, boring, consistent action. Trust me, I get it, it is annoying to keep hearing this. There is a reason that people selling quick fixes get so much traction. We all want that. Unfortunately that is not how it works. It takes a little bit of work and it takes some time. It is also kind of boring, honestly. But sticking with those small action steps and continuing to build on them, without letting any setbacks (and there will be setbacks) derail everything, will be how you become healthier, fitter, less stressed, calmer, more present, and perform better in all areas of your life.
I also had to share two of my personal haunted houses specifically from social media that I find genuinely frightening.
A haunted house but it is just someone with no credentials telling you that your beloved morning coffee is wrecking your hormones, causing you to store fat, and slowly killing you.
Would I recommend that you start your day with a venti triple shot latte with five pumps of caramel syrup like the guy currently sitting next to me as I type this? I would not. But if you like your coffee before you eat breakfast and you feel fine when you do this, then go for it. I am not sure when coffee became villain number one, but unless you are adding a bunch of crap to it or seriously overdoing the caffeine, have it when you want to and enjoy it. There are bigger things to worry about.
A haunted house but it is just every influencer screaming at you that everything you eat, drink, or touch is toxic and slowly killing you.
Some of their points have some merit, but a lot of the fear-mongering is over the top. I would argue that the stress from worrying everything is toxic is more harmful than whatever the thing is. Personally, I try to find a balance. I don’t use nonstick pans, can’t remember the last time I drank out of a plastic water bottle, and get all my grass fed / pasture raised / hormone free meat specially delivered, but I also don’t freak out if I eat a non-organic apple, do not go out of my way to avoid seed oils at restaurants, and use whatever makeup I want. Be mindful and do your best.
Happy Halloween!! Stay safe out there
